


Chasing a Feeling

by namielle



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Drama, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Graphic Description, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Most likely OOC, Mutual Pining, Paranoia, Past Domestic Violence, Physical Abuse, Pokemon Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Rating May Change, Reader-Insert, Romance, Self Confidence Issues, Slow Build, Unreliable Narrator, beta reader? idk her
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:00:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25238098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namielle/pseuds/namielle
Summary: You tell yourself, "life at the top is boring when you stay there too long" time and time again.You have yourself convinced. Yet even so, you can't help but feel like there might be more to it than that.So you leave. A new challenge in a new region. That's all you signed up for. Get in, win the Gym challenge, and get out.You think you have things planned out, but the overly confident gym leader who's taken an interest in you has something else in mind.- - -[Currently going through revisions. Chapters revised: Prologue + 2/7]
Relationships: Kibana | Raihan/Reader
Comments: 22
Kudos: 103





	1. The Aftermath of a Certain Judgement (A Prologue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you could go back in time and listen to all the advice when others were concerned for you, you would.
> 
> But sadly, listening was never really your strong suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could be considered a bit intense.

The last time you were here seemed like so long ago.

Thinking back to the last time you visited, you couldn’t help but recall the manner in which your father greeted you at the door – with a look of extreme concern.

_”Sweetheart… What happened to your face?”_

You dismissed his worries at the time. Brushed it off, said it was nothing, just flying rubble from a fierce battle.

 _Oh, a rock hit me in the face. It’s okay! It’ll go away soon._ You always uttered such excuses without much thought to how ridiculous they sounded in correspondence to the things you were trying to hide. A rock, causing a black eye? Unlikely.

But it wasn’t the look of concern that you remembered most, rather the stricken face his features morphed into, contorted with disappointment and betrayal when you answered. He had known that you were lying, this was obvious to you, yet he hadn’t pressed you for the truth – merely accepted your answer without another word.  


If only you had taken his concern to heart, and understood that your response was a cry for help. If you did, maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess.

As you trudged towards the front door, you winced hard. With every step your ears rang louder. Mixed with the deafening beat of your heart, the cacophonic symphony created an intense throbbing sensation in your head that was deeply disturbing. Even worse was the burning in your throat. Every breath felt like sandpaper was wedged in your windpipe and rubbing vigorously against its walls. Everything hurt, but you had to push through, using every ounce of your willpower on persisting forward and resisting the urge to fall face-first on your lawn and get some well-needed rest.  
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you reached the steps to your front door. Feebly, you gave it the loudest knock you could muster.

You hadn’t been sure how long you had been waiting. However long it was, it was long enough to allow the consideration of knocking again. Just before you could, the door swiftly pulled away from you to reveal your father, dressed in pajamas but with his lab coat on; looking disheveled and confused, his eyes half-open in a sleepy stupor. His facial features lifted up for a second upon recognizing it was you, then just as quickly shifted to unadulterated panic when he took notice of your critical state.

“… Arceus, what in the world happened!?”

You didn’t need a mirror to know how messed up you looked. The blood on your lap and palms had dried to crusty smears of scarlet and you could still feel the little glass cuts around your thighs, the exposure to the air causing an unpleasant stinging. While all of this was bad, it was your face that was the source of his worries. Ugly crimson bruises draped around your neck like a collar, with deep, imperfect crescents peppering the bruises. Petechiae stained the whole of your face, and cracks of red drew infinite lines in the whites of your eyes.

At that moment, seeing your father’s face in combination with hearing his voice was like a bucket of ice-cold water being splashed on your face; jolting you away from the dizzying, disoriented state you were in. And in the second of clarity, everything that had just happened came rushing back. Everything you ran from. You needed help. Now. Fear-induced adrenaline pumped through your veins instantaneously and you broke into vicious sobs, your knees buckling beneath you as your body shook violently. Your father promptly rushed to your side, offering your limp body support.

“Dad…” Your voice was gravelly as you croaked through sobs. It hurt to talk. “Please, help me, I.. I don’t know what to do…What have I done? I... I think I did something really bad...”

“Who did this to you!? Was it…” He paused, his teeth gritted in anger. “No… Nevermind, that doesn’t matter now, we have to get you to a hospital immediately!”

“No, please...Please… just take me somewhere else. I can’t be here, I really can’t.” You begged, coughing in between words. It felt like every word you spoke ate at a reservoir of air in your lungs and the words became more of a struggle to get out. “Please, help me…Please, I'm so terrified... I don't know what to do...”

Your father shushed you gently, patting your back as you whimpered in fear, tears streaming down your cheeks. It even hurt to cry. He had tried his best to calm you down, to reassure you, but you only continued to beg, too deep in a hysterical trance to stop. The more you spoke, the more you expended what little energy you had left, and before long you felt your consciousness rapidly slipping away. By the time you watched your father pull out a cellphone from the pocket of his coat as he called out something into the house, you were barely able to discern what he was saying.  
  
You closed your eyes for a second.  
  
When you opened them again, you were met with a worried-looking Swampert, holding you in the living room as your father stood and shouted frantically into his phone, looking out the window as if he were waiting for someone. He seemed to notice you were looking at him, and he paused to give you a sort of melancholic smile. 

"Everything will be okay. I'll take care of it."  


And that was the last thing you knew for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to everyone who had been reading this for the extremely long hiatus. I had a lot of things going on in my life, and haven't found the time to sit down and write again until now. While looking over my story as a whole, I’ve decided I'd like to make some revisions to the previous chapters and add a prologue for some interesting substance to reader's backstory, and to set the tone for the story. (sort of ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯)
> 
> The revisions will come slowly as I work through them, then I hope to start updating this story regularly again, as I'd like to see Raihan/reader's relationship through to the end. I have a lot of things planned for the two of them hehehe
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has given Chasing a Feeling a chance, and especially to those who have been enjoying it so far. Much appreciated!


	2. A Remedial Purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > **"There is a place in the distance  
>  A place that I've been dreaming of  
> No, time and space don't exist there  
> We can dance like there's no tomorrow"**
> 
>   
>  _The City | Madeon_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published 13/07/2020  
> Revised: 25/02/2021

The conversation must’ve been going on for at least an hour now, or what felt like an hour to an anticipating trainer. You could hear noises of agreements through the wall but when it came time for your father to speak, you couldn’t make heads or tails out of any of it, and you were sure that he was purposely mumbling under his breath to keep you from hearing. There were many times that you contemplated opening the door – just a crack – to be able to hear what was being spoken of, but such a thing was easier thought than done, considering there was a slight obstacle blocking your way…

You glanced over at the door and met eyes with your father’s Swampert, who looked rather intimidating standing in front of your door with his eyes fixed on you.

“Swaaampert… Do you think I could just… Maybe squeeze by you and get to the door? I’ll trade you these if you’ll let me…” You cooed, reaching into your skirt pocket and pulling out some fresh berries you had picked. Your father’s Swampert was a big fan of berries, particularly Rawst berries, which you happened to have on you.

 _’Here’s my chance! There’s no way he can resist.’_ You thought with a smug smile.

But instead of taking the sweet treat from your hand, Swampert simply shot you an unamused look, giving a surly grunt as he turned away like he couldn’t believe you would try such a dirty tactic such as bribing.

_’Okay, so maybe there **is** a way he can resist…’_

“Right, yeah I thought so, but it was worth a shot at least.” You muttered, dropping the berries back into your pocket.

Sighing and falling back on your bed, you closed your eyes. You were told it was a surprise for your sake, and despite how hard you pushed for hints, he only gave you one: it would be ‘a good change of pace’. Of course, this sort of comment elicited all sorts of thoughts as to what may be in store for you. Some of your guesses were reasonable, such as obtaining a new bike – others, not so much. You wondered if he would gift you a shiny Pokemon – maybe from another region! But you quickly dismissed this when you decided it made no sense in conjunction with the hint. Then you wondered if your mother had a ‘change of pace’ and would possibly be returning home to see you. But you knew that was never going to happen – after all, it had been years since you had last even heard from her. Considering her position as one of the greatest Pokemon Coordinators in the region, you knew she always had her hands full with the Pokemon Contest – amongst other things. She hadn’t even bothered to show up when you were crowned Champion, so you were certain that there was no way she would come now.

Ever since your mother became busy in the limelight, your father had kept himself busy with his research. Before your return home recently, you practically never saw him either – only on important days.

You remembered how things weren’t always like this. When you were born, your parents had been living happily in Galar, your father chasing a lead on legendary Pokemon. It was a much simpler time, where the three of you spent plenty of time together as any ordinary nuclear family did. But on your twelfth birthday, your father’s work in Galar concluded abruptly due to lack of evidence, and your family was set to return home, back to Hoenn. Shortly after arriving, you recalled how your mother had seemingly found her calling, and instantly sank all her time into Pokemon coordination. Your father in turn sank his time into his research, almost as if he had something to prove. You were heartbroken, alone, for a long time – until you met Professor Birch. He was the man who had given you your Torchic and introduced you to the idea of becoming a Pokemon Trainer. At first, you merely saw it as a distraction, but never did you imagine that you would be sitting at the top, with the legendary Pokemon Groudon in your arsenal and the title ‘Champion’ attached to your name – and for seven years, nonetheless.  
In that time, you could say that things had become slightly… dull, at least in terms of battling others. Gone were the blinding lights and the dazzling charm of being number one, now replaced with the constant wonder if things would ever change, as much to your initial surprise, no one was able to dethrone you. You were able to crush even those who you thought were formidable opponents. It was disappointing, to say the least.  
But your life was anything but boring. Whereas things were stale on that front, there were a plethora of things going on behind the scenes that kept you otherwise preoccupied. 

Just then you felt a heavy pang in your chest. One that you would always feel if you thought about him. If you were being honest, he was one of the biggest reasons you had gotten serious about becoming a Pokemon trainer and why you pushed yourself so hard. Of course, you wanted to beat him, but more than that you wanted to be just like him; and though he was your rival, he was more than just that - he was your best friend, and more.

You remembered how he had always pushed you to be the best you could be, and in the midst of the pain and stress from your somewhat broken-up home, he had been there for you the most, providing unwavering solace and support. He would be there to cheer you on in your gym battles when no one else was, and he would lend an ear if you wanted to vent about how close you were to catching that one Pokemon you had been searching tirelessly for. You could vividly recall the battles the two of you had, and how they would always help you forget the late-night shouting matches you used to hear beyond the walls.  
He had moved mountains for you, and he had been the most excited for you when you became Champion. You had the time of your life making it to the top, with him by your side.

But things weren’t like that now, and they hadn’t been for a while.

The more you thought about it, the more the subject pulled at your heartstrings.

 _’I know the kind of person he is now… And I can’t forget the things he’s done, but…’_ You thought, turning over listlessly on your bed. _’I just can’t stop myself from wanting to —‘_

Just then, loud snoring shook you from your thoughts. Pushing yourself up off the bed, you looked towards the source of the noise: Swampert, who had been so diligently guarding you, had fallen asleep on his post. A wide grin slowly spread across your lips as you were careful to lift yourself off the bed, tip-toeing towards the door. Turning the doorknob with as much precision and stealth as you could, you crept out into the hallway.

_‘Sorry, Swampert!’_

  


A burst of jolly laughter bellowed through the kitchen and reverberated through the house. It seemed like whoever your father was talking to, he was enjoying himself. Furrowing your brow in concentration, you focused all your energy on sneaking down the stairs... only to stop in your tracks when you noticed the sleeping Delcatty laying in your way at the bottom of the steps. It seemed like nothing was going to be easy for you.  
Not wanting to wake the slumbering Pokemon, you sighed as you plopped down and propped your elbow on your knee, resting your chin in the palm of your hands. This would have to do - at least you could hear from this distance.  
Watching the entrance to the kitchen, you could see the length of your father’s shadow stretch and dance across the walls in varying lengths as he moved throughout the room.  
Not long after you had begun waiting, you heard the laughter stop, followed by a nostalgic sigh as the conversation carried on.

“Ah, those were good times. There’s a lot you missed for sure, but I thought I’d try to give you a quick run-down of everything going on here.” A pause. “Anyway, I’m sorry to hold you up like this, I know you’re busy. As I said, this favor is a lot to ask, and…” Your father’s voice trailed off and did not continue. The other person must be speaking now.

 _’What? What favor? Who is he talking to?’_ You wondered, and though it was quiet in the house, trying to discern who was on the other end still proved to be a struggle. You could hear, but not that well.  
From the way the conversation was going, it wasn’t any sort of surprise you could have guessed.

“Alright, I will let her know. She'll be beyond happy to hear this. Thank you again. Talk soon and take care.”

As soon as you heard the familiar _beep!_ from the phone’s buttons, you were on your feet and scrambling down the steps, your sudden movement and vicious speed scaring the poor Delcatty out of your way.  
Wanting to play it cool and act as if you didn’t just hear what was going on, you decided it would be best to walk in slow – So instead of charging in like a wild Aggron, you slowly sauntered into the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe as you fixed your eyes on your father – who still hadn’t taken notice of you, and instead looked as if he was in deep thought. 

“Sooo… Who was that?” 

It seemed the random sound of your voice was enough to startle your father out of his thoughts, as he turned to you in momentary alarm.

“Oh! Honey, you almost gave me a heart attack!” He said, holding a hand up to his heart as he set the phone down, his facial features softening. “… I thought I told you to stay put, how did you sneak past Swampert?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to! And uh, Swampert fell asleep. I guess he thought I was pretty boring to watch over.” You shrugged, choosing to omit the part about your attempted bribery. “Anyway, who were you talking to?” 

_’And are you ready to give me the surprise yet?’_ You added silently. You hated waiting to know what things were, and this surprise thing had been eating at you ever since he first mentioned it.

“Ah! Yes, I was on the phone with an old friend of mine.”

“Oh, you were…?” You replied, wondering if that was all. Not wanting to be rude, you did your best to hide the disappointment in your voice, and you tiled your head ever so slightly in an inquisitive manner as if telling him to go on. 

“Yes, I was. And, in our conversation together, said old friend let me know that the Galar league is starting soon: what they call a ‘Gym Challenge’.” 

“Wow, that’s exciting news.”

“It is! And do you remember how I said I wanted to offer you a change of pace?”

“Yes…” You replied, your voice rising as you failed to mask your excitement. _’Finally! This is it!’_

“I managed to convince this friend to endorse you in the upcoming Gym Challenge! It’ll be happening in about three weeks, but you’ll be sent there early to prepare. You’ll be able to catch all new Pokemon on your own too, giving you a chance to build a team before anything starts. Surprise!”

Immediately your eyes went as you gasped. You haven’t heard anything this exciting since you became Champion!

“Seriously!? Is this for real!?” 

“Yes! I am very serious about this! But you've got to be aware of somethings before we send you o—”

“Thank you, dad!!” You cried, wrapping your arms tightly around your father’s shoulders. “This is the best news I've heard in a while! You're the best!” This was exactly the sort of change of pace you needed, and you wanted to get started right now.

“OK, OK!” Your father choked as you tightened your squeeze. “I’m glad that you’re happy, but! As I was saying, you need to be aware of some things before we send you off.”

“Right. Sorry,” At lightning speed, you loosened your grip from your father and dropped your arms to your sides, stepping back to give him your full, undivided attention. “I’m listening.”

“I want you to know, this was a pretty big favor for me to ask, so please try your best not to cause any unnecessary trouble. You will get an endorsement, but the person I asked has their hands full already, so they won’t have a lot of time to show you the ropes. You’ll pretty much be on your own. You’re fine with that?”

“That makes sense.” You nod in agreement, mulling over his words with a serious face – which quickly turned to a frown when you registered the word ‘trouble.’ “Wait. Cause any unnecessary trouble!? Dad, the last time I checked I actually saved Hoenn FROM trouble!”

Your father let out a boisterous laugh and you couldn't help but follow. Once the laughter subsided, you pat your father’s back in reassurance and gave him a firm smile.

“I get it, though. Really. I'm grateful for this. I’ll take the endorsement, and I’ll do everything on my own. I mean, what kind of Champion would I be if I couldn’t, right?”

“That’s the spirit. Don't worry about anything else, I'll handle everything. Go pack your bags! You haven’t got much time to waste.”

Grinning, you didn’t waste a second as you dashed back to your room, now filled with the excitement a new adventure promised. A great number of years had passed since you had last been to Galar, and you couldn’t help but daydream of all of the new Pokemon you’d catch, all of the gym battles you’d face, all of the new friendships you would make.

 _'Maybe I'll even be able to take the Champion title there, too!'_ You thought.

And with this in mind, you knew things were about to get very exciting for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL A/N: Thank you for checking out my first ever reader-insert fanfic! I had originally wanted to write a series of one-shots based on songs, but eventually, all the ideas began to formulate into a storyline of their own lol
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! 
> 
> / / /
> 
> A/N: Wow am I glad that I came back to reread this chapter to make some much-needed revisions. I ended up really disliking the way I originally wrote this (especially considering there were so many embarrassing mistakes that I let slide... man was i embarrassed with myself like am i illiterate? who knows lmao) so I ended up changing the bulk of this chapter and taking out a lot of useless bloat. While I'm not sure if I particularly like how I wrote this either, I do feel a lot better about it. 
> 
> Writing reader-insert is new to me and has been a bit of an uphill battle but I'm slowly trying to work out the kinks. :) Thank you for your interest in Chasing a Feeling.


	3. A Wild 'Prince Charming' Appeared!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > **"It's time to begin, isn't it?  
>  I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit  
> I'm just the same as I was"**   
> 
> 
>   
>  _It's Time | Imagine Dragons_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Published 14/07/2020  
> Revised: 03/03/2021

Through all the times that you wondered what you would do with your life after becoming Champion, leaving your Pokemon behind was something you never once considered; and as you sat on the freshly dewed grass that morning, your legs pulled tightly to your chest, watching over the brightly shimmering pond behind your house, you felt an unforeseen wave of anxiousness wash over you. 

_’Maybe I just said yes without really thinking about it.’_ You thought, chewing your bottom lip as you fondled slick blades of green between your fingertips. On one hand, leaving for Galar was the perfect opportunity for a fresh start, exactly what you had been waiting for and you wanted to take a chance on this. You knew you would regret it later if you went back on it now. But if you chose to go, bringing your Pokemon was not in the realm of possibilities, regardless of how long they had been with you and how it was near impossible to imagine a life without them. It was either you started new, or you didn’t go at all. Truthfully, you had entertained the idea of bringing and using your winning team, but you immediately discarded the option when you began to run into trouble with the logistics of it all. You also knew that would be many complications tied to this, such as being overpowered and having an unfair advantage over others. Then there was the concern of whether using a full team consisting of Pokemon out of the region was even allowed. You didn’t know how the Gym Challenge worked, what if it wasn’t? At the end of the day, you knew you were invited in to start at the bottom, so the best way to do that was to start anew, with no Pokemon.  
All of these thoughts eventually led you to wonder what to do with your title. On that front, you at least had a more solid plan – you were to keep your status to yourself for as long as possible. The last thing you wanted was for bias to be demonstrated towards you. Random people offering you things, accumulating fans who cheered you on without knowing what you could do. All of it sounded terrible.

 _’Not to mention the pressure on me if I told people…’_ You imagined multiple scenarios where people would cheer you on, thinking you would walk into the Gym Challenge, sweep all the Gym Leaders and immediately go toe-to-toe with the Galar Champion... Only for you to fall short along the way. You would never live down the humiliation. 

Putting your head in your hands, you let out a sigh of frustration. You were at a crossroads and weren’t sure what to do. 

“Maybe it's just not worth it in the end.” You mumbled; dejection apparent in your voice. “My best bet is probably staying here.” 

Just as you said that you heard the pop of several Pokeballs, and in the next instance you found yourself surrounded by your Pokemon, huddled up around you in support. Blaziken, Flygon, Absol, Gyarados, Salamence, and Manectric. Everyone had come out to console you. Such a tender gesture brought tears to your eyes as you buried your face into the palms of your hands. You knew doing this would be hard, but not this hard, and for a long while you sat in silence, soaking in the comforting voices of your Pokemon. 

“I don’t know what to do.” Pulling your hands away from your face, you swiped away the tears from your eyes as you felt your Absol nuzzle lovingly against your cheek. “I don’t want this to be the end. I can’t just leave you guys. I know I want to go, but...” 

Your statement was met with silence, your Pokemon staring at you as they waited for you to continue, expecting you to have solidified your resolve. To make the right choice. To choose your own path for yourself like you so often did in the past. But instead, you said nothing, and merely fixed your gaze on the glistening surface before you. 

“Blaziken!”

It was Blaziken who chose to step forward and break the silence. Surprised at the sudden outburst, you glanced over at your Blaziken who placed its hand on your shoulder, nodding at you with a stern but purposeful look.

“Blaziken… Are you saying I should go?”

Your Blaziken nodded, its expression unwavering. Soon after, all of your Pokemon began to follow with supportive gestures and cries of their own; and as you looked around, you saw looks of fiery determination and unconditional love and understanding. You knew these looks all too well now – They had faith in you and would stand by your choice no matter what it may be.

“You guys know me better than I do.” You laughed; voice scratchy from the tears. “Always knowing exactly what I want. But okay. If you guys believe I should go, I will go. I promise I'll win – and when I do, I’ll come right back to you guys.”

Cuddling up against your Pokemon, who were now letting out excited and joyful cheers, you pulled out the berries you kept from the previous day and sat in blissful, sentimental silence as you fed them, enjoying what you knew would be your last moment with them for a long time.

X X X

Your first thought when re-entering your home and catching sight of your father – asleep with the TV on – was perhaps you had taken too long outside, or maybe you should reschedule your departure for tomorrow. Letting out an endearing sigh, you tiptoed towards the couch and reached over his slumbering figure, gingerly plucking the TV remote from its position next to him. Pointing the device towards the TV with your finger on the POWER button, you quickly changed your mind once you laid eyes on what was being shown. There was a match going on, though you could tell it wasn't happening in Hoenn. For one, the location did not look familiar to you, and second of all, neither of these trainers possessed Pokemon you had ever seen before, which further piqued your interest.

A figure with long purple hair and a fluffy, extravagant cape stood at one end of the battlefield and was using what looked to be a fire-flying type. His opponent standing at the other end was a trainer with an orange bandana and a hood decorated with motifs that looked to represent a dragon; the Pokemon he was fighting with was of a type not immediately distinguishable to you, but if you had to guess, was probably a steel-type. It looked to be the heat of the match now, both Pokemon looking rather roughed up.  


"I thank you! You have lit the fire in Charizard's soul!" 

“Then let's make this a proper show!”

Before anything else could happen, Duraludon was retreated into its ball. Eyebrows knitting in confusion, you sat in front of the TV to get a better look at what was happening. 

"Let's go, Duraludon! Gigantamax!"

What happened next came as an extreme shock to you. The Pokeball that Duraludon was in grew exponentially in the trainer's hand, and as the Pokeball was thrown, the Duraludon emerged once more, only now over a hundred times its original size, and with a much different look to it. The air around the stadium seemed to have changed completely as well.

“Very good! I'm not finished with this battle. And I won't let anyone finish it for me!" The purple-haired trainer shouted. Charizard was next to retreat into its ball, the same thing happening with the Pokeball emitting a purple-pink aura. "I'll show you what Charizard can really do! It's Gigantamax time!"

While you had been shocked at the way Duraludon came out, you were completely blown away by the emerging Charizard, looking vicious with its wings, horns and mouth abalze.

“What!?” You exclaimed, your sudden outburst startling your father awake.

“Oh! I’m sorry I fell asleep, are you almost ready to go?”

“Yeah sure, but more importantly, **are you seeing this!?** Those Pokemon are massive! AND that one Pokemon is now a BUILDING!?” You asked, almost demanded, as you jabbed your finger towards the screen.

“Yes! It's amazing! All of that is happening in Galar! I don’t know too much about all of that, but you’ll be learning all about that very soon!”

Your face lit up with excitement. Now you couldn’t wait to get started.

  


The two of you watched the rest of the fight together and once it was over (the purple-haired trainer named Leon had won; which was a shame as you had high hopes for the other trainer, Raihan) you began to gather your things, following your father out into the backyard while chattering excitedly about all the things you were eager to see. Your father listened idly, nodding his head every so often, before taking advantage of a gap in the conversation to engage you in the proper goodbyes for a send-off. At his request, you promised to keep in touch and to let him know how things were going whenever you had a chance. Finally, you returned his heartfelt hug, before stepping away.

“I guess this is it, kiddo. Are you ready to go?”

“I am!” You replied, grinning from ear to ear.

“Great! I hope this isn't too much to ask, but all these arrangements were very last minute, and I wasn’t able to get any proper transportation sorted... Since you're bringing your Pokemon with you, I thought you might be okay with riding Salamence there.”

“Ah. About that,” You began, the smile on your face faltered as you felt a sharp pang in your chest. “I think I’m going to leave them behind with you. I can take Salamence there, but… You know, with you saying to start from scratch, I think it would be best if I did – start from scratch, I mean. So I’m gonna leave the rest of my team here with you.”

“Hmm. I did say that... But I know how important your Pokemon are to you. Are you sure about this?”

“I’m positive. I know you’ll take great care of them.”

Reaching into your pocket to retrieve your Pokeballs, you extended them forward, your father carefully taking them and placing them into the pocket of his lab coat. With this, you sent out your Salamence and pulled the straps of your backpack over your shoulders, readying yourself for departure. Climbing over the teal dragon’s back, you caught sight of your father staring at you with a strange expression you had never seen before. His lips were pulled upward into a smile, but his eyes possessed a somewhat melancholic and far-away look to them. Most peculiar of all, his eyes were glued to your neck.

”What's wrong, is something on me?”

“No.” He said calmly, after a long pause. “Just happy to see you looking so healthy for your trip.”

_’What was that supposed to mean?’_

“Thanks, I guess?” You smiled, unsure of how you should receive such a statement. An awkward silence fell between the two of you, and while you sat on your Salamence’s back waiting for the right time to take off, an intrusive thought suddenly crossed your mind. Clearing your throat awkwardly, you looked to your father, your eyes downcast.

“Uh…Dad... Before I go, I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

"Have you…” You hesitated, swallowing the lump of apprehension that formed in your throat. “…Heard from _him_?”

A long, heavy pause followed your question – so long that you nearly regretted asking and wondered if you should just change the subject.

“Yes. I have.“ He finally answered.

Having expected to hear a 'no', you gasped when you received the opposite response, an eager smile lighting up your features.

“You have? Where is he, how come he hasn’t retur—"

“He is fine, sweetheart. Hes been busy, but he wants you to go out there and do your best.” The way he answered was stiff and hasty, having an almost made-up quality to it.

 **Busy.** Of course, you thought, scowling as you recalled how he had been so 'busy' that he almost never came home to the apartment the two of you had shared. Such was the reason you decided to come back to your father's to stay: _'It's painful living in a place for two when you spend most of your time alone, with constant reminders of what used to be...'_  
At least, that was what you told yourself when you stopped going back - but when you said this once more now, you felt a strange nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right about it - like noticing a missing scene from your favorite movie or hearing an off-key note in a song that was familiar. It was extremely disconcerting.

“…Oh. But, I really—"

"I don't think you should be worrying about him. You have a lot more important things to be thinking about right now, wouldn't you say." Your father's voice had taken on a much harsher tone, his face with an ashen quality to it and his expression stone-cold with an eerie characteristic you couldn't quite place.

"Yeah... If you say so..."

“Right. So I think you should get going if you want to get there while it's still light out.”

You were unsure of what to say or think. Of course, you were dissatisfied with the way he handled this topic, as you had been hoping for some answers after confirming he had heard from a certain someone. Clearly, that was not the case. By the way the conversation went, you now began to suspect that he was hiding something - and his aversion from the subject further provoked your suspicions. But as much as you wanted to press him further, his ‘suggestion’ sounded so curt and aggressive that you were afraid to say anything more about it. If he did indeed have something to hide, he wasn’t going to tell you any time soon.  
Slowly, you turned away from him, shrugging your shoulders as you pat your Salamence’s neck gently, letting him know it was almost time to go. In the corner of your eye, you saw your father turning his gaze back to you, but you were adamant about avoiding eye contact with him, especially given the way he had just spoken to you. 

“Sure. You're right.” You grumbled under your breath, studying your Salamence's smooth skin. “And about my title, I—“

“Don't worry about that. Just go out there and have fun. I told you I would take care of everything, and I have.” Your father uttered affectionately, his tone and attitude doing a complete 180 from just a second ago. He was right back to his normal, caring self as if nothing had happened. Sauntering over to your Salamence's side, he took your hand gently in his, causing you to wince in fear.

“You have nothing to worry about. I promise.”

X X X

After landing in the middle of a seemingly boundless field, you thanked Salamence for a smooth ride before returning it to its ball. On the way here, you had imagined yourself meeting all the people you needed to meet, doing all the things that you had to do, and then going on your merry way to catch your starting team. But what you didn't think through was how you would get from point A to Point B; and once you got a good look at your surroundings, you felt a troubled expression creep onto your face. You knew where you needed to go, but you were without an idea of where to even start. There was no one around to give you advice, and of course, no Pokedex. The worst part was, you remembered absolutely nothing from your childhood here, so all of Galar seemed new and almost foreign to you.  
Observing the sky above, you noted that a warm shade of clementine had begun to bleed into the brilliant blue of the day, which had darkened into an ashy indigo, signifying that dusk was rapidly approaching.

 _‘I guess I did get here pretty late. I’d better get a move on.’_ You thought, gazing about as you tried to make out any distinguishing landmarks. To your left, you were able to catch sight of something that looked to be a tower on the horizon. Your initial instinct was to traverse the path towards it, hoping at least to find someone there who would be able to help you - until you remembered the information your dad had ran by you the previous night during your preparations. The Professor's lab was in a town. Looking towards the tower once more, you began having doubts that this was the right way to go. Even if someone there could help you, the last thing you wanted was to waste time going there if it wasn't somewhere you needed to be. 

“Okay, I don't think that's the way.” Turning on your heel, you began to take a couple of steps in the opposite direction, before stopping when you noticed there were no buildings that way for as far as your eyes could see. It seemed the wilderness just continued infinitely, which meant that was definitely the wrong way to go. You were baffled. Not even five minutes in Galar and you were already having a rough time.

_‘Calm down. You got this. You made your way through Hoenn by exploring by yourself, so this should be a piece of cake, right? Right.’_

“Alright, I’ve gotta start somewhere, so I’m going that way. Hopefully that’s… Motorstock, or whatever it was called.” You uttered to yourself, turning towards a random direction as you tried to recall the names of your destinations. But before you could take another step, you felt a hand clamp down on your shoulder.

“Hey. Looking for something?”

Confused at who might be talking to you, you whirled around towards the source of the voice, your eyes meeting those of a tall man smiling down at you; and as your gaze met his, you noticed right away how vibrant his eyes were - brilliant turquenite scintillating under a fluorescent lamp - in the fading hours of the daylight. Truthfully, it was a bit hard not to stare.  
Feeling as if you may be ogling him, you quickly tore your gaze away from his eyes and began to take in the rest of his appearance instead: the lazy grin spread across his well-sculpted face, the slick black hair tied back and secured with an orange headband, and most notably the black hoodie he wore: little white triangles resembling teeth were stitched into the hood, and there was a gold, shiny material lining the middle, thin lines, evenly spaced and embossed into it, giving off the resemblance of a dragon’s torso.  
For some reason, he looked oddly familiar to you, though you didn't know why.

“What? No, not really... Uhm, you're a trainer, right? I hope you're not looking to battle, 'cause I'm kind of busy.”

“More like a Gym Leader – but no. You look lost, so I figured I'd help you out."

“Thanks, but I'm good. I’m fine on my own.” You stated flatly, your voice trailing off as you tried covertly to get a proper look at his face, concentrating on where you might have known him from. Then, the realization hit you like a Pikachu's thunderbolt striking down from the sky - That was it! You remembered that he was the trainer from the match! “Wait, I know you!”

“I don’t think so, because I definitely would’ve remembered meeting someone as beautiful as you.”

Your face scrunched up, and you shot him a look as if he had told you a Glalie had arms; your body physically recoiling in distaste. You shook your head, choosing to ignore what he said.

“I mean I’ve _seen_ you before, on TV. You’re Raihan, right? I saw a battle between you and Leon. You were pretty good out there... Sucks that you lost to Leon.”

“Thanks. It's too bad you didn’t see any of my other matches. You’d think I’m amazing.” Raihan replied, smirking.

You raised your eyebrows skeptically. Whether he meant it or was just saying it to try and show off, you didn't know. What you did know was that his immediately flirtatious demeanor was off-putting and out-of-place with you; as you simply were not used to anyone acting this way, at least not right off the bat... But at the same time, it was somewhat charming, and you couldn't help but feel flattered and a little vulnerable, especially when he regarded you with such a heartwarming smile.  
_'Okay yeah, this is bad, I'd better get out of here before he serenades me or something.' You thought, shaking your thoughts away._

“Mhm. Sureee. Well anyway, it was nice chatting with you, Raihan. Good luck with the Gym Challenge.”

“You too. Maybe I'll see you at the ceremony.” As he said this, you caught him giving you a quick once-over. Embarrassed and self-conscious, you pretended not to notice.

“You will. I’m on my way to meet my endorser and get things settled.”

"Who's your endorser?”

“Kabu.”

“Kabu! You’re from Hoenn then, huh?”

“Uh-huh… Wait, what? How did you know!?” Your face snapped back to him, momentary shock coloring your face.

“Kabu? He’s from Hoenn too. I figured you’d have to know him from somewhere.” Raihan raised an expectant eyebrow at you as if you were supposed to know this. “And since you're new here, I’m gonna guess you don’t know where he is, right?”

You folded your arms over your chest triumphantly, a smug smile pulling at the corners of your lips.

“Actually, I do. He’s at Motorstock!”

Raihan stared at you.

“See. I know.”

“Motorstock, huh.” Now it was Raihan’s turn to look smug. “You’d have to tell me where that is since there’s nowhere here called that.”

The smile on your face fell immediately as your jaw dropped in humiliation. 

“Is that not it!?” 

“Nope. Since you don’t know where it is, why don’t I show you, princess?”

 _Princess?_ Immediately your face went red at the mention of such a nickname. No one had ever called you princess before – yet you just met this man, and he was already doing just that. Not that it was a bad nickname, but you did have reservations about someone you didn't know calling you this. You always imagined that sort of nickname was more reserved for a significant other, rather than a stranger you just met.

“Do not call me princess.”

“Why not? I think it suits you. Plus you never told me your name, so...”

“Stop, it doesn’t. Don’t be weird.” You insisted, making sure to let him know your name immediately after.

“That’s a pretty name, princess.” 

Just as you were about to refute the compliment again, Raihan reached down and took your hand, bringing it to his lips in one fluid movement; happening so quickly that you barely had time to register what he was doing; and kissed your knuckles gently. Your eyes widened as you snatched your hand away.

“Wha – What do you think you’re doing?” 

“It's just a friendly gesture. Completely innocent.”

“Right, I don’t remember doing anything affectionate like that with anyone else.”

“I’m not just anyone else.” Raihan winked.

Exasperated, you rolled your eyes and shoved your hands into your pockets, shifting your gaze away as you felt the blush on your cheeks deepening.

“OK, OK prince charming, that's enough. If you’re going to show me where things are, then let's go already.”

“Prince charming, huh? Well if it's directions my princess needs, I’ll be sure to provide.”

“Stop!!”

Raihan beamed at you, nodding towards a completely different direction than you were heading. 

“Come on, this way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ORIGINAL A/N: Alright, so I decided that (y/n) was to keep her title as champion for the time being, and I chose this since it would be relevant to the story later on. In the Pokemon anime, Ash left Alola with his title of Champion of the Alola league so I figured if he could do it, you could to.
> 
> Also, I went with Pikagram for Instagram, it popped into my mind when I thought about the Pokemon Snap! cover, with the Pikachu on it.
> 
> / / / 
> 
> A/N: There really wasn't much that I found wrong with this chapter per se, but there was so much more that I felt I could have done with it, leading me to rewrite most of the content. I also kept rereading the revisions and changing those too...   
> But more importantly, I changed the way reader and Raihan's conversation went, and I much prefer it this way. (For some reason I had Raihan's scene with Sonia from anipoke in mind when I wrote this out lol)
> 
> Thank you always for your kudos, bookmarks, and general interest in Chasing a Feeling! Constructive criticism and the like are welcome, of course.
> 
> **Decided to put the World Coronation Series match between Leon and Raihan on for reader to watch lol (Pokemon Journeys Ep. 27, Japanese ver.)
> 
> Also, Happy Pokemon 25th!


	4. Introducing, The One and Only

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > **"I hear it calling outside my window  
>  I feel it in my soul  
> The stars were burning so bright  
> The sun was out 'til midnight" **  
> 
> 
>   
>  _Best Day of My Life | American Authors_   
> 

So much time had passed that when it came time for the two of you to step out of the Pokemon Research Lab, the sky had changed from it’s brilliant blue to a sultry orange. Professor Magnolia had been a very pleasant lady, and she was glad to see you again. Apparently the two of you had met briefly when you were a child living in Galar, during your father’s studies there. She expressed how happy she was to see that you were continuing what your father chose to give up – being a Pokemon trainer. Unsure of what to say, you simply smiled politely and said that training Pokemon was your passion, purposely neglecting to mention your title. On the other hand, the Professor was surprised to see Raihan “so far from home”, since he was always “cooped up in Hammerlocke.” 

Raihan hadn’t been shy to let her know that he was helping you get started and that you were going to be in the Gym Challenge. He was particularly loud about the part where you were endorsed by Kabu, causing you a great deal of embarrassment, although you were unsure why. News probably travelled fast, but you hadn’t really planned on so many people knowing right off the bat. _’But it’s just the professor, so it’s okay, I guess.’_

After receiving your new Rotom Phone (which was to your regret that you left your smart phone at home when she asked you if you had one), you hadn’t hesitated to jump into questions about Dynamaxing. You referenced the match you saw on TV prior to your arrival in Galar, and even tried to ask Raihan if he could Dynamax his “office Pokemon”, as you called it, right then and there for you – Raihan was quick to correct you and let you know that it’s proper name was Duraludon. (And that you couldn’t just Dynamax Pokemon anywhere you wanted.)

 _Office Pokemon?_ He looked at you as if you had been speaking in tongues. _What’re you talking abo— You mean Duraludon? Yeahhh, no, don’t call it an Office Pokemon._

When you protested that it did look like an office building when Raihan Dynamaxed it, he simply ignored you, going on instead about how Duraludon was absolutely not an ‘office pokemon’, but a ‘powerful dragon-type made out of light metal.’

In any case, Professor Magnolia was thrilled that you were so interested in Dynamaxing and gladly dove into a lecture about her discoveries. While you had been eagerly listened the entire way through, Raihan was much more engrossed in whatever he was looking at on his Rotom Phone. This was all old news to him, anyway. He had, however, shown you his Dynamax Band when you asked to see it. At the end of it, you had been hoping to get one for yourself, but discovered that without any Wishing Stars, you were unable to. 

Thus, here you were, leaving the Research Lab in silence as a thick cloud of disappointment hung over you, a cloud that Raihan was quick to address. 

“Hey, come on, don’t be sad. You learned a lot, got your Rotom Phone, and you’ll probably be able to find some Wishing Stars soon.”

“I guess.” Was all you could manage. And while you did try to say it as enthusiastically as possible to hide your dismay, you failed miserably. “I... just wanted to get everything together before I started looking for my team… I don’t want to skip any steps or let anyone down.”

“I know. And you won’t let anyone down.”

Silence fell over you two once more, as you were unsure what to say. You tried the best you could to cheer yourself up and to think happy thoughts, like maybe you could stumble across one later or tomorrow, but it was hard. There was a lot more pressure riding on you this time, since you had only been able to come here on a favour. You used to never have to worry about messing something up, or not being prepared, and you hated to admit it, but maybe you had underestimated how easy things would be this time around. 

Suddenly, you felt a small tap against your arm and turned to see Raihan trying to get your attention. You looked up at him inquisitively. 

“Hey, since you got your Rotom Phone up and running,” he pulled his own device from his pocket. “You should get a Pikagram. That way you can check out my awesome selfies and see what I’m up to.”

You returned his comment with a blank stare, as if you weren’t sure why he would even suggest that, and kept your Rotom Phone where it was, in your pocket.

“I’m good. You can enjoy your own selfies on your own phone.”

“Are you saying waking up to pictures of me wouldn’t brighten up your day?”

“I can think of better things to wake up to…” You began, shifting your gaze to the side. While you hadn’t really meant anything by that and planned to end the conversation there, you immediately changed your mind when you caught sight of Raihan smirking at you and leaning closer, realizing rather quickly how suggestive your comment sounded. You felt your heart skip a beat and your cheeks heat up. He was so tall, and when he leaned towards you that way, you couldn’t help but feel a little boxed in and nervous. 

“Like what?”

“Things that don’t involve you.” 

Raihan laughed and stood back, shaking his head. “Wow, you really have a way with words, don’t you princess?”

Princess? Your eyes widened in momentary shock as you registered his comment, then you glared at him in the most stern and intimidating way you possibly could, which wasn’t very much so.

“Don’t call me princess, I’m not your princess.”

“Whatever you say, princess.” Raihan shrugged, not missing a beat as he shot you a smug smile. “You’re the one who called me prince charming earlier.”

Your jaw dropped. The nerve of this man! While it was true that you had called him that, it had simply flew out of your mouth before you could realize it, and you hadn’t thought that he would’ve paid that much attention to it. Before you could shout your best comeback at him, a loud voice interrupted you and the both of you turned to see who it was that had called Raihan’s name. You were met with the sight of a slender woman with orange hair tied into a side ponytail, heart accessories littered all over and sunglasses propped on her head. She looked as if she could be some kind of fashion journalist or designer.

She waved and promptly walked over to the two of you – or more like, Raihan.

“Raihan, is that you!? What’re you doing here!? The most I ever see of you is on your Pikagram page!”

“Hey Sonia, good to see you again! Where’s Leon?”

“Probably busy doing his Champion stuff…” You could have sworn you saw a look of displeasure flash on her face, but it had been so quick, you couldn’t be sure. “That man is always busy.”

“Yup, as usual,” For a moment, Raihan looked as if he wanted to say something else but decided against it. Instead, he simply said “Well, he can relax a bit since this will be his last year as Champion.”

"You always say that every year!"

"Yeah, but I mean it this time."

Sonia sighed and placed her palm against her forehead as if to say ‘not this again’, before turning to you and smiling.

“Anyway, who’s this?!” 

“That’s (y/n). She’s new around here.”

“Raihan was just showing me to the Pokemon Research Lab. Professor Magnolia was really helpful, and she taught me a lot about Dynamaxing.”

“Isn’t Gran the best!? She really knows her stuff. I’m her assistant, Sonia, as I’m sure you heard, it’s nice to meet you!”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” 

“(y/n) here was looking to get a Dynamax band of her own. You don’t happen to have any spare Wishing Stars on you, do you?” You could tell that the question wasn’t entirely serious.

“Sadly no, but you know who might be able to help? Leon!”

“The…Champion?” Puzzled, you were unsure what the Champion had to do with Wishing Stars. Did he collect them?

“Yup! I know he’s given out Dynamax Bands to prospective trainers in the past.* He’s usually super busy, but I keep in contact with him regularly so I might be able to reach him.”

“Would you? I hope that's not too much trouble.” Your eyes lit up as you tried your best to contain your excitement.

“No trouble at all! Let me just call him and see what’s up.” Reaching into her bag, Sonia retrieved her Rotom Phone and began tapping away at the screen before turning away and wandering a few steps further to speak to Leon in privacy. 

You let out a sigh of relief. Thank Arceus you two met up with Sonia, all hope wasn’t lost after all. In fact, it had been because she was saying hello to Raihan that this situation had even transpired. Turning to look at the person in question, you noticed he was tapping away at his phone once more, but stopped when he noticed you looking at him; and when he grinned at you, you smiled back.

“See? Everything turned out okay. And Leon has this thing about wanting to help trainers be the best they can be, so I don't see why he wouldn't give you a Dynamax Band. I heard he battled a kid that didn’t have one* and he gave one to him since he showed promise, so he'll definitely give you one too.”

“I hope so... And it turns out you were right in the end, about everything being okay.”

“Yup. I’m always right. Nothing new there.”

“What kind of person is this Leon, anyway?”

For a split second, Raihan’s face clouded over as if he were remembering something he would have preferred not to recall. “The type that's always getting lost.” 

You couldn’t help but look at him, a little stunned. That was a lot of emphasis on the ‘always’.

“Is that all he is?”

“Hmm. He's also so confident that he's self-centered - and that's coming from me.” Raihan joked. 

The two of you shared a laugh and you couldn’t help but smile as you took in the sight of Raihan’s face. Talking to him really did make you feel better, even looking at that carefree smile on his face helped ease your worries – It was practically impossible to have bad thoughts when he always smiled like everything would work out. While you did have your inhibitions about him at first, he really turned out to be kind and helpful in the end. First, he helped you when you were lost and now, he had taken it upon himself to help you get started in Galar. He even distracted you from your disappointment about the Wishing Stars. You could get used to having him around, except you were sure you probably wouldn't see him again after the day was over, at least until the Gym Challenge. Which was disappointing.

“What’s so funny?” 

Shaking the thoughts out of your head, you noticed that Sonia had ended the phone call and was walking back to the two of you.

“Raihan was just telling me about Leon. Apparently, he has a knack for getting lost?”

Sonia scoffed, putting a hand on her hip. “Yes! That boy always has his head up in the clouds, he even knows it! My Yamper and I have both come to his rescue plenty of times before, and if it weren’t for Charizard he probably wouldn’t even be able to make it back to Wyndon Stadium!”

“Wow… I’m impressed. He must be really bad with directions, then.”

“When it comes to getting lost, he’s the best there is! But, anyway, he’s over in Motostoke right now, and he said he’d be glad to meet you and give you a Dynamax band.”

“Really?! That’s great! Thank you!”

“Yup!” She returned your smile with one just as big as yours. “The train will be here pretty soon, so you two should get going.”

With that, Raihan stood and extended a out a hand to you, which you took, and pulled you up in one smooth motion. You glanced at Sonia. “Aren’t you coming too?” 

“Aw, while I’d love to join you guys, I’ve got a ton of work I need to do at the Research Lab.” Sonia offered an apologetic smile before giving a slight nod towards the dragon gym leader. “Raihan’s sense of direction isn’t nearly as bad as Leon’s, he’ll get you there just fine.”

“No no,” Turning to Raihan, you noticed you were still holding his hand and quickly released your grasp. “I couldn’t make Raihan do that. He already brought me all the way here, I really don’t want to be any more trouble.”

“It’s no problem.” Raihan replied, sliding his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “Besides, it’ll be better if I come with.”

Before you could object, Sonia waved the both of you off. “Then it’s settled! Have fun you two. Say hi to Leon for me!”

As you followed behind Raihan, you turned back to look at Sonia, who was now headed towards the Research Lab. “Thanks again for your help!”

“Always happy to help! Feel free to stop by the Research Lab anytime!”

“What’re you always looking at?”

Raihan glanced up from the screen of his Rotom Phone and noticed you nodding towards the device in his hands.

“Pikagram, mostly.” He tilted his screen over to you, which showcased his Pikagram page: ‘kbnraihan’, 329 posts. While he was standing at a staggering 1.4M followers, he only had about 20 people he followed.

“You don’t really like to follow people back, huh?”

“I don’t follow just anybody back. Mostly friends – so the other gym leaders, or the official Gym Challenge account, and some of the pages for clothing brands I like. And again, you should get a Pikagram. I'd follow you.” 

“I see,” Once again ignoring his comment about setting up a Pikagram, you glanced down at the first handful of pictures. Lots of selfies, you noted, with varying backgrounds. Some of them were of his Pokemon training, some of them were in scenic spots... And then you spotted a selfie he had posted with a girl, and a rather pretty one at that. You pointed towards the post. “Wow, she’s pretty.”

“…Who?” Raihan's gaze had been fixated on you, but when he realized you were talking about someone on his Pikagram, he glanced down and tapped the photo, enlarging the picture. The two had been at a café, each with their own drink and leaning into the camera frame. “Nessa?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean... I guess. She’s a model.”

The way he had responded made it sound as if he didn’t care too much to talk about the subject, saying such with a rather dismissive tone. You glanced up towards him and wondered if he would offer anything else, like maybe that she was his girlfriend. The two of them were good looking, and you couldn’t help but think they would make a good couple. Although such a thought caused you to feel a slight tightness in your chest, as if you were – for some reason – rather jealous. Unsure why you would feel that way, you chose to ignore it and think of something else.

Instead of saying anything more, he simply swiped away from the photo and placed his Rotom Phone in his pocket, sitting back in his seat. Maybe he decided it was none of your business. “She’s the water type gym leader, so you’ll face off against her pretty early on when the Gym Challenge starts.” 

“Is she tough?”

“Eh, she can be if you don’t have the right Pokemon.”

“Then I’d better start looking for the right Pokemon.”

“You’ll need a full team, and probably a couple more than that too. So, here’s how the line-up looks: Milo, who’s the grass type gym leader, will be first. He isn’t too challenging, you’ll be fine against him. Then it’s Nessa. After that it’ll be Kabu – which will be interesting to see how you take him on. Most of the youngest Gym Challengers usually fall there.”

“I’ll have to fight my endorser?”

“Well, yeah. That’s how it goes. Leon plans to endorse his little brother, Hop, and Hop will have to fight Leon – if he even makes it that far. There’s no use feeling bad about it, if anything just think of it as a good chance to showcase your skills and prove they picked right endorsing you.”

The thought of fighting against someone who was doing you a favour, much less a family friend, made you uneasy. You couldn’t help but feel bad, even if that was the way the cookie crumbled. But feelings like this had no place in the Gym Challenge or your journey to the top, and you knew this the first time you had done it all in Hoenn. When it got down to it, you just had to put up a good fight to show he, along with everyone back home, had reason to place their bets on you. 

“And then?”

“Then it’s Bea. She’s a fighting type, Opal, who’s a fairy type…Which, honestly I’m surprised she’s still in the Gym Challenge at this point.”

“Why’s that? Is she not any good?”

“No, that’s not it. But uh… You’ll see. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you get there. Anyway, after her you’ll fight Gordie who’s a rock-type, then Piers. I heard he’s got a unique way of fighting – And, he’s got Dark type Pokemon. After that, you’ll face your toughest challenge in the league.”

“Leon?”

Raihan gave you a flat look. “No.” 

“Hmm…Who could I be forgetting, I wonder…” You joked, feigning a thoughtful look as you placed a finger against your chin.

“Good one, you should’ve been a comedian instead.” His voice was dripping in sarcasm, but the cocky expression on his face showed he wasn't bothered. “Joke around all you want now, but I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve. You’ll get to experience first hand just how amazing The Great Raihan really is - If you get there.”

“Oh, I will get there.” 

“Someone's confident, huh? Then I’ll make sure to give you the best battle of your life.” Although you knew he had been talking about battling, the tone he had said this in seemed to suggest more. You opened your mouth to say something, but before the words could escape your lips, an automated voice blasted from the intercom, causing both of you to look out the window.

“NOW ARRIVING AT MOTOSTOKE STATION.”

“That’s us!” You cried, pushing yourself up and heading towards the doors of the train, Raihan trailing close behind you.

Stepping out into the station, you took a good look at your surroundings. Like Wedgehurst, the walls surrounding you were made with red bricks stacked on top of one another; but unlike the small station you had previously been at, this station was much larger. To your right, there were two well-stocked vending machines lined up against the window alongside a couple of seats and a magazine rack showcasing the latest issues of Pokemon battle, lifestyle and fashion magazines. To your left, there were plenty more seats lining the walls, while across from you was a black leather circle-couch situated in the middle of the station. A shop, some customer service stands and a restaurant – which smelled absolutely divine to you – occupied the wall space. 

While you had been busy taking in the new sights around you, Raihan had already begun walking ahead. Noticing that you weren’t next to him, he turned his head to the side, throwing a glance in your direction. “Come on! Leon said he’s just outside.”

“Sorry, coming!”

Following him out the entrance of the station, it looked as if it was getting rather late now, as a dark shade of indigo had begun to taint the sky. Reaching into your jacket pocket, you pulled out your Rotom Phone, noting that it was now 7:45PM. If you were quick, you’d still be able to meet up with Kabu, and possibly go and buy some camping gear.

“Look who it is! I’m surprised you actually made it here.”

“I’ll have you know I’m getting better with my directions.”

“Says who, you?”

Sliding your phone back into your pocket, you turned as your eyes met a figure that was unmistakably the Champion, Leon – whose hair and cape looked much fluffier in person – sharing a laugh and a playful push with Raihan. Smiling politely, you stepped closer towards the two, who noticed you and stopped their little tussle. 

“And you must be (y/n). Sonia told me about you, she said you were looking for a Dynamax band.” 

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you!” You put out a hand for Leon to shake and he did so with a firm grip. “As the Champion, I can imagine how busy you must be, so thank you again for taking the time to meet me.”

“Absolutely. My dream is to help make the trainers of the Galar region as strong as they can be, so I’m always happy to help in any way I can. Are you going to be participating in the upcoming Gym Challenge?”

“I am.” 

“That’s great news. Have you thought about who might be on your team?”

You hesitated at the question, wondering if telling him you had just gotten here and had no Pokemon to your name would make him reluctant to provide you with a Dynamax band. While you had seen Yamper at the research lab, along with a couple of other people’s Pokemon, you had otherwise been preoccupied with settling in that you hadn’t really had a chance to survey the Pokemon in the tall grass or wandering in the Wild Area. You cleared your throat, ready to speak, before Raihan interrupted. 

“She’s new around here. Kabu endorsed her, and I gave her the run down already, so she’ll probably be able to figure it out before the league starts.”

Leon’s eyes widened slightly at the fact that Kabu had endorsed you. Even he wasn’t immune to the surprise.

“I guess you don’t need to hear anything else from me then,” Leon smiled diplomatically at you and pulled out a large white wristband, a red stipe went over one end while a blue stripe adorned the other. You extended your hand and graciously accepted the gift. “This is your’s.”

Slipping the band on your wrist, you couldn’t help but grin as excitement welled up inside you. “Thank you so much!”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to seeing how you do in the Gym Challenge. If Kabu is backing you, I’m sure you’re going to be a tough contestant.” Then, he turned to Raihan with a smug look on his face. “She might even turn out to be a tough challenger for you, Raihan.”

Raihan gave Leon what must have been the biggest self-assured smirk you had ever seen. “We’ll see about that. I’m still coming for your title too, and I’ve been working on my team a lot, so don’t think I’ll be going down easy this year!” Then, he turned to look at you, his expression softening while his eyes sparked with intrigue. “I believe in you, (y/n). I’m looking forward to seeing how you’ll do, too. Leon just gave you a Dynamax Band, and I’ve been helping you around all day, so don’t go letting us down now!”

You stared up at the two men, touched by belief they had in you despite the fact that you hadn’t even done anything yet. Leon had turned to face you once more, giving you a smile full of resolution. The sight of their smiling faces further fueled the excitement in you, and you beamed with determination.

“Trust me, you’re both in for a challenge you won’t forget!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. As you read through the list of gym leaders, I'm sure you know I'll be going down the Sword route. (Since that's the version I own. ^^)
> 
> 2\. I know in the SwSh games the trainer already has their Rotom Phone and gets the Pokedex from Sonia, but in the Pokemon Journeys anime, Ash doesn’t have a smart phone - in this case, like you - and gets his smartphone and Pokedex from the professor there. I figured I’d go down this route, since you're new to the region like Ash was (instead of being born there like the protag in the SwSh games.) ^^
> 
> * = (The kid Raihan and Sonia were talking about): Pokemon Journeys ep. 13 – Ash and Leon battle, but Ash does not have a Dynamax Band. Leon lends him one, and lets Ash keep it (saying he likes ‘unrefined’ trainers like Ash.)
> 
> 3\. Raihan's Insta/Pika: I know I could've just used 'raihan' but I decided to go with kbnraihan since I wanted to reference his Japanese name, and kbn is like a short form for it. Also, when I think about Raihan, I think of him as the type of person who might enjoy streetwear on his days off, and I know some streetwear brands sell via their Insta pages; thus made a reference to that  
> 
> 
> I hope you guys liked this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D


	5. Hearts a Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > **"How do you do it? You got me losing every breath  
>  What did you give me to make my heart beat out my chest?"**  
> 
> 
> _Latch | Disclosure × Sam Smith_
> 
> (Warning in advance! Things get a little intense here, and I changed the rating of the story just in case. Proceed at your own risk!)

“Wow. Yeah… I see why he’s the champion now. That flamethrower is pretty much unstoppable.”

“And you were teasing me about losing to Leon.”

“I get it now and I don’t blame you, he’s tough.” Rolling on to your back and staring at the ceiling, you let out a small giggle. The comment had been more for fun than for anything else, but you could tell Raihan really did feel strongly about wanting to beat Leon. It sort of reminded you of yourself, and the undying determination you had felt when facing against the Elite Four, then against Steven. Luckily, you had been able to accomplish it all in one go, but if you were in Raihan’s position, you were certain you would have felt the same.

The two of you laid side by side on the bed in your newly rented room. Raihan’s Rotom Phone had been levitating in the space between you, playing through Galar League matches from Natube. A couple of hours must have past since arriving at the Budew Drop Inn in Motostoke, and while you had full intention of flopping on the bed and passing out once getting to the room, Raihan had offered to get dinner. That was when you realized just how starving you had been, having only eaten a couple of berries in the morning. 

Dinner that night consisted of sandwiches from the restaurant you had passed by in the station, and the food smelt just as delectable as it did earlier; they were even shaped like Digletts. Both of you dined through discussion of what your team line-up may look like at the league, Raihan throwing out a couple of suggestions for possible Pokemon to pick. Being new to the region, you had no idea what Pokemon would’ve been a good choice simply due to the fact that you didn’t know all the Pokemon in Galar; thus you remained indecisive of even a rough outline. All you knew, solely based on the quick run-down he gave you, was that you would at least want a fire, electric, water and possibly a fairy type. The two other Pokemon depended largely on what everyone else would bring. 

After hearing such a statement from you, Raihan had hatched the idea to show you previous matches of the other gym leaders – to try and give you a better idea of what you might be going up against. This was your third time going through last year’s matches, and while you thought a lot of things about each gym leader, you hammered it down in your mind that Leon was undoubtedly going to be a challenge. 

“So, did you get a good idea of what Pokemon you might want to look for?”

Turning your head to the side, you gazed at Raihan who took his phone back into his hands and closed out of the playlist. He seemed to scroll quickly and half-heartedly through the videos recommended to him before closing out of the app and sliding the device into his pocket. 

“Kind of…” Even though you had meant to answer with more certainty, you were still on the fence about what you wanted. “I think I got a pretty good look at everyone’s battle styles too, so that’s good at least.” 

Figuring out what sort of Pokemon inhabited the Wild Area was another thing you were going to need help with. Not that you couldn’t do it on your own, but you wondered if Raihan, Kabu or at least Sonia would be able to give you a bit of direction on where and how to start. Maybe there were Pokemon here that you had seen before in Hoenn? 

“Nice, you’re getting there. We can start looking for your team together in the morning.”

“I mean, that would be great… But, aren’t you busy with your own stuff? I’m sure being a gym leader is pretty hectic.” 

“Nah. I don’t get busy until the Galar League starts. Until then, I just spend most of my time training in the Wild Area, and since you’re going there anyway, we should go together.”

“If you wouldn’t mind, then?”

“I don’t mind.” Pushing himself off the bed, Raihan stood as he stretched his arms out and yawned. “But that means I’d better get going. It’s a long way back to Hammerlocke.”

“Sorry I made you stay here so late with me.” Drawing your knees up to your chest and scooting forward, you swung your legs off the bed. 

Raihan chuckled as he slipped his hands back into his pockets. “You didn’t ‘make’ me stay late. I wanted to.”

Slipping your sneakers back on, you followed him towards the door of your hotel room, wondering if he would be okay. Even if he insisted he had been fine with staying for so long, a part of you still felt guilty. Since it was so late, there was no way the trains were still running, but surely he wasn’t just going to walk all the way back, right? 

As he reached down and took the doorknob in his hand, you cleared your throat.

“You could just stay here, too. Since we’re going to meet again tomorrow anyway… It’ll save you the trip.”

The dragon tamer simply stood at the door, staring at you in silence with a somewhat stunned look on his face. You shrugged your shoulders meekly as you tore your gaze away from his, unsure if such a proposition was awkward or not. You hadn’t intended it to be awkward, if anything it was more for the sake of convenience. Besides, it wasn’t like anything was going to happen. People camp together all the time in the wilderness, especially when travelling together, so staying in a hotel room together shouldn’t be any different.

“You sure?”

The words he spoke interrupted your internal debate, and you turned back to him. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” You smiled. “I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t.”

X X X 

So maybe you hadn’t thought this through as well as thought you had.

The two of you now lay facing away from each other in the dark, having settled on going to bed shortly after you allowed him to stay with you. And even though you had vehemently told yourself over and over that it was just a friendly gesture and there was nothing weird about it, suddenly you weren’t so sure if that’s how you really felt about all of this – especially since he had offered you his shirt to sleep in. 

_”Hey, I just noticed, you don’t have anything to sleep in, do you?”_

_You had been in the process of unzipping your jacket when Raihan had asked you this, and when you turned to answer him, you noticed that he had already taken his hoodie off, revealing a striped orange and navy jersey with a dragon logo on the front. That must’ve been the logo for the gym, you thought._

_“It's fine, I was just going to sleep in what I’m wearing now.”_

_“Uh, that seems pretty uncomfortable.” Raihan gave you a quick once-over. “Why don’t you just sleep in my shirt tonight?”_

_Stunned at his offer, you simply stood there, blinking. Your mind had been preoccupied with a plethora of things, so the thought of of whether or not your outfit would’ve been comfortable to sleep in never crossed your mind. At the mention of this, you acknowledged that maybe the white t-shirt you wore underneath would have been fine, but the thin anorak jacket and denim shorts you wore were not optimal choices for sleepwear._

_“Oh, uhm…” You really weren’t sure what to say._

_“Go ahead. I sleep shirtless most of the time anyway.”_

_It wasn’t about how he felt, more like how you felt about it. But apparently, he had made up his mind and wasn’t going to take no for an answer as he stripped out of the uniform top and laid it on the bed next to where you stood. You eyed the shirt laying in a heap on the bed, before looking back up at the now shirtless Raihan, who was busy undoing his bandanna. Reaching out hesitantly as if the shirt were a rabid Poochyena that might lash out and bite you at any moment, you let out a sigh under your breath as you resolved you were being ridiculous. Might as well get it over with. Bringing the shirt to you, you noticed that it smelt faintly of some type of cologne._

_“Thanks... I guess I’ll change then,” You announced gingerly. “Don’t turn around!”_

_“Aw, not planning on giving me a show?”_

_“Raihan!!” That came out a lot louder than you had intended. Gasping and clamping your hand over your mouth, you blushed deeply, embarrassed at your sudden outburst._

_“Relax, I’m just joking.” Raihan chuckled, laying down on the bed as he faced the wall._

The shirt fit you like a dress, as he was much taller than you were, so luckily you didn’t end up looking as promiscuous as you thought you might have. However, you couldn’t help but feel awkward about how casual he had been, offering his shirt to a girl he just met that day. You had never really worn anyone else’s clothes before, besides your girl friends – whom you swapped clothes with – and your ex-boyfriend, back in your early days in Hoenn. The thought of him made your heart ache and you quickly pushed the image out of your mind.

Turning over on your back, you slowly snuck a peek over at Raihan, who had remained facing away from you since he first laid down. As he was silent, you determined that he must have been asleep. At least he didn’t snore. He looked so different with his hair down, almost like a different person, and you would’ve thought as much if you didn’t know it was him next to you. While you thought he did look a bit more childish this way, you couldn’t help but think it was a bit cute.

“What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”

The sudden sound of his voice startled you and you practically bit down on your tongue to keep yourself from reacting as such. Wasn’t he just asleep? Evidently not, as he was now turned around, facing you.

“Not really? I guess I’m jetlagged.” You joked.

“Maybe this will help, then.”

And before your mind could completely register what Raihan had said, you felt arms slide around your waist, pulling you into him as he pressed his lips against yours. It wasn’t enough force to be called rough, but it definitely caught you off guard. Eyes widening, you lay there unresponsive for a moment. Unsure how to react. A million questions raced through your mind, but as he kissed you deeper you resolved that none of those questions mattered. Wrapping your arms around him, you slid one hand up into his hair while your other hand rested at the nape of his neck, pushing him closer to you. It had been a while since you had kissed anyone, and the last time you did it didn’t feel nearly as warm and fervent as it did now. 

As you part to catch your breath, you gaze longingly up at Raihan. It was strange – even if there wasn’t any light, you could see his features so clearly. His chiselled face, the studs in his ears. Even his cyan eyes, filled with an intense yearning, seemed to sparkle in the thick darkness of the room. Reaching a hand up to his face, you gently stroke your fingers against his cheek, sweeping the stray strands of his hair aside as you soaked up the image of his face so close to yours. You felt his hand sliding slowly up your thigh, his touch hot on your skin and sending an electrifying sensation through you, which further fueled your need for him to be as close to you as possible. Leaning forward, you pulled him back into a kiss, hungry for more and he seemed more than happy to oblige. Feeling a hand cup your breast, you gasped in surprise and felt his tongue slip between your lips, tangling with yours. You moaned lightly into the kiss as he did so, feeling his length push up against your inner thigh.

A part of you didn’t want this to end, but at the same time you weren’t sure how far this was going to go, or if you were ready to take it that far. Reluctantly, you pulled away and rested your forehead against his, felling a hand slide south down your back.  
“Raihan, I—“ 

“(Y/n)?”

The sudden sound of his voice cracking through the opaque silence startled you away from your thoughts, nearly giving you a heart attack in the process.

“W-What?”

“Is something wrong?”

Widening your eyes, a harsh realization hit you like a slap in the face. Raihan was turned to face you, and he looked confused. Despite feeling so real it seems that everything you had just seen, everything that you had just felt… Was merely a daydream. What you had failed to realize though, was that you staring intently at him was the only thing that had been real about the whole ordeal. Feeling overwhelmed with self-consciousness and confusion, you swallowed hard and swiftly turned your back to him once more, pulling the sheets up to your face. 

“...Nothing... I just, woke up randomly, that’s all.” The words are a struggle to get out, but you somehow manage to do it. Whether or not the sentence made sense as a response as the least of your concerns. You sunk deeper under the covers, wishing the bed beneath you would somehow morph into a monster and swallow you up whole. There was no way you’d be able to fall asleep now.

A suffocating quietness filled the room, and you could feel Raihan’s gaze fixated on your back, as if he had wanted to say more, or he wasn’t sure that was all there was to it. But you didn’t offer any more of an explanation and he didn’t press you for any more answers. After what seemed like an eternity, you heard him exhale softly, turning back on to his side. If only you knew what he was thinking.

“Try to get some sleep. Sweet dreams.”

“...Yeah, you too.”  


X X X 

You awoke the next morning screaming: your body and face drenched with sweat, your throat sore and your heart running a marathon inside your chest. In contrast to your thoughts last night, it seemed you were able to miraculously fall asleep after all. Throwing the covers off, you examined the room that you had awoken in, slightly disoriented from the dream you had just experienced. As you took in the sights of the maroon walls and camel flooring, a relieved sigh escaped your lips. It had been a mere dream. Thank Arceus. 

_’Ok, calm down, everything is okay. It’s all fine.’_

So it seemed. But even so, that didn’t stop you from recalling what you had seen. In your dream, your Blaziken had been laying in the spot right next to your bed, only in someone else’s room. It had been beaten unconscious, and you had been forced to watch as you laid helplessly on the bed, your arms and legs tied to the bed frame to keep you from intervening. 

While it did soothe you to know that in reality, Blaziken was safe at home in Hoenn, your heart couldn’t help but ache with the knowledge that the dream wasn’t just a dream. It was a sight you had seen many times in the past, more often that you would have liked. But years had passed since then, and you had genuinely believed that the dreams of the past would stop, especially after you managed to get away from the person who was causing them.

_’I thought the dreams stopped a long time ago, so why is it that I’m starting to see them again? Especially now, of all times?’_

Drawing in a deep, shaky breath, you gazed over at the window, covered by the curtains – pulled shut as much as possible, but thin blades of sunlight still managed to stab through the slight part in between the pieces of fabric. It was morning, now. That meant you and Raihan would be going back out to the Wild Area to catch Pokemon. 

You and Raihan…

As if on cue, a blush crept up to your cheeks as your mind jumped to the fervent daze you had been caught in last night. Hopefully he didn’t think you were a creep that watched him sleep, or that you were checking him out. But surely he was used to it anyway, you thought, trying to make yourself feel better and less awkward about the whole thing. One more girl checking him out wouldn’t have meant anything. 

As much as you tried to justify all of it, it didn’t seem to work, and only seemed to make matters worse.

_’Okay, that’s enough of that. I think I’d better get up.’_

Speaking of the Dragon Tamer, you wondered where he had gone. While he had fallen asleep next to you last night, he was nowhere to be seen this morning; despite the fact you were still dressed in his shirt. Glancing around the room and checking the washroom, it was only until after that you noticed a small piece of paper with writing on it, sitting neatly on the nightstand where his headband had been.

**Went for a walk. Be back later :)**

**By the way you were tossing and turning a lot last night hope you’re OK.**

Dropping the note dismissively on the nightstand, you walked over to your clothes, folded into a neat pile on a small table next to the TV. Pulling off the uniform top, you swiftly changed back into your clothes from yesterday. Staying in the room seemed to do you no good, as you would only sit here and continue thinking, thus looking for him seemed to be the best idea. Hopefully he didn’t wander off too far.

X X X  


When you decided you were going to look for Raihan, you didn’t think you would see him hanging out outside Motostoke stadium. And the last thing you imagined was to see Kabu sitting next to him, both of them chowing down on a rice ball. As you watched the two of them sit together and converse, the talk you had with Kabu last night replayed in your head and you froze. Was it possible that your name – or more importantly, your title – came up in conversation? 

Running up to the two of them, you called out loudly and waved a hand, hopefully interrupting whatever they were speaking about. “Good morning!”

“Morning, princess.”

“Good morning, (y/n). Would you like an onigiri?” Kabu extended a basket to you, which neatly seated two rice balls. There was a gap in the basket, where Kabu and Raihan’s rice balls had been previously. 

“I’d love one, thank you.” Picking one and taking a seat next to Raihan, you glanced up at the two men beside you, wondering anxiously if you had been mentioned, and if you had been too late to stop any discussion of your position as champion. It wasn’t that you were ashamed of the title, or that you didn’t want anyone to know per se, but you didn’t want a prestigious title to sway anyone’s feelings about you or how to treat you. While you already had Raihan’s nickname of ‘princess’ going for you, the last thing you wanted was for anyone to actually begin treating you like some sort of dainty damsel.

“We were just talking about you,” Kabu started.

That answered your question of whether or not they spoke of you.

“Is that so…” 

“Yes. I was telling Raihan that I was surprised your father asked me to endorse you, when you and Raihan are so close.”

Was that all? Phew. You stifled a chuckle and shook your head, leaning forward to look at Kabu as you spoke. 

“Oh, no, we’re not close or anything. We just met yesterday.” 

“So last night meant nothing to you?” Raihan asked, looking down at you with an expression of feigned devastation. Gasping as a red hue began to taint your cheeks, you slapped him lightly with the back of your hand. 

“Nothing happened last night!!”

Raihan and Kabu laughed as you sighed, pouting at the dragon gym leader. It seemed teasing was a habit he picked up, and didn’t intent to let go of any time soon. Oh well, that just meant you would have to play him at his own game.

The three of you continued to eat your breakfast through light conversation, the two gym leaders occasionally discussing what the gym challenge might look like this year as you listened quietly. Raihan had also taken it upon himself to reveal that you were looking for Pokemon today, and he wanted to know if Kabu had any suggestions for additions to your team. Thinking carefully, Kabu had simply told you that you should go with what you felt was right. What Pokemon clicked with you, so to speak. There was still a couple of weeks left, which was plenty of time to make meaningful bonds with Pokemon and explore the Wild Area thoroughly. Although it hadn’t necessarily been to answer you were looking for, you believed it was a good answer nonetheless.

“Thanks for the rice ball, Kabu.” Raihan grinned. 

“Yeah, thank you! It was delicious!” You agreed, smiling as you stood up and dusted off your shorts. 

“No need for thanks. I am happy you two enjoyed them.”

“I hope we can join you for breakfast again sometime, but for now, I guess we’d better head out.” You glanced up at Raihan, who nodded in agreement.

“Yes, be careful out there.”

“Thank you again for everything, Kabu. I’ll see you again soon!” And you would, plenty of times before the Galar League began.

The two of you waved goodbye before boarding the cog-like elevator, and when Kabu was safely out of sight and hearing range, you turned to Raihan as you rummaged around in your backpack, pulling out his shirt. You had folded it up and placed it in a plastic bag you found in the closet, a typical bag provided by most hotels in case you wanted your clothing laundered. 

“Thanks again for your shirt last night.”

“Anytime, princess.” Raihan took the bag from you. “I guess I’d better get changed back into this. There’s a clothing store we can step into down the street here.” 

Exiting the elevator and following him down the street, you took in the sights around you. Motostoke had been a much bigger city than you had expected, and you made a mental note to come back and check out the shops when you had time. 

“Here it is. I’ll just be a quick sec.” Stopping in front of a rather expensive looking boutique, you admired the fashionable clothes displayed on the mannequins at the windows as he reached into the pocket of his hoodie and retrieved a Pokeball, handing it to you. 

“What? What’s this?” Confused, you extended your hand out to take the Pokeball from him.

“I caught you something. You seemed to be having a tough time choosing what Pokemon to add to your team, so I decided to get you something to help start you off.”

You stared up at Raihan, at a complete loss for words, touched that he would go out of his way to do something so nice for you; especially considering he only knew you for about 24 hours. Before you could thank him for the gift, Raihan nodded towards the ball, pushing open the door to the boutique.

“I’m gonna head inside to change. Check out what it is.” 

Watching as Raihan disappeared through the glass doors, you slowly pressed the button in the centre of the ball, releasing a short, green Pokemon – something akin to a baby dinosaur. It was nothing you had seen before, and not something that appeared in Hoenn. The Pokemon seemed confused of its surroundings, but its attention promptly focused on you as you crouched down next to it. Taking out your Rotom Phone you opened the Pokedex.

**Axew, the Tusk Pokémon. These Pokémon nest in the ground and use their tusks to crush hard berries. Crushing berries is also how they test each other’s strength.**

_’So it’s a dragon-type. Cute! Definitely the kind of Pokemon Raihan would pick.’_

“Hi there…” You cooed at it, extending a hand as it stepped towards you curiously, looking between your face and your hand as if it wasn’t sure it could trust you. You remained crouched, the smile on your face unwavering, and it didn’t take long for the Axew to decide you were nothing to be afraid of. Deeming you worthy of a smile, it beamed up at you, you promptly returning it’s smile with just as much enthusiasm. Extending your arms out, Axew hopped into your arms, as you pulled your new friend into an embrace. 

_’It is really sweet of him to do this for me. I have to remember to thank him properly later on.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story, for the comments, bookmarks and kudos! I appreciate it a lot! ^^  
> I also decided after writing this chapter that I'm going to turn this into an M-rated fic. Nothing juicy happens in this chapter, but it'll come later~
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, please feel free to let me know what you think! :)
> 
> The idea of Raihan and Kabu eating onigiri together came from this! (Sorry Nessa >.<)  
> 
> 
> SOURCE: hitorigaoka @ twitter


	6. Falling in Slow Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> > **"And all I ever want is breaking me apart  
>  I said to the thing that I once was"**
> 
> _Toes | Glass Animals_

After a whirlwind morning of shopping, you had finally arrived back at the Wild Area. Despite only being a day since you had arrived, it felt like quite a bit of time had passed since you had last seen the scenery around you. During that time, the Wild Area had become a lot sunnier than you remembered it, the overbearing and stuffy atmosphere rousing an image of an Ekans laying underneath a heat lamp. Gripping the straps of your backpack and shifting the new weight around, you drew in a silent breath. Intense weather aside, it was finally time to get started – though at a much later time than you anticipated. As much as you hated to admit it, it was actually your fault that shopping dragged on longer than needed. While the initial idea was simply to purchase camping supplies, Pokeballs and battle-specific items, after the previous night’s ordeal of borrowing a certain gym leader’s shirt, you – or rather, your dignity – decided rather vehemently that you were going to pick up some sleeping clothes. You weren’t picky: it didn’t have to be 900,000 Pokemon Dollar pajamas woven from the finest silk produced by shiny Caterpies; but it did have to be enough that you would never have to do something so embarrassing ever again. 

Not that you would have minded, but you pretended you did.

Now that you were back in the Wild Area, the question from last night once again occupied the vacant space in your thoughts. What Pokemon did you want? As you were still unable to come to an answer, you began to grow anxious that this would be the problem plaguing you for the rest of your time in Galar. What sort of trainer would show up to the Galar League with a single Pokemon? Better yet, what sort of Champion would you be if you decided to show up without a full team? You were sure there had been people who had gone this route before, but being a champion came with a certain mindset – and that mindset did not include being unprepared. While Raihan had been kind enough to provide you with your first Pokemon – an adorable Axew – it didn’t quite line up with the types you had planned out and deemed necessary to bring in to the league, thus you were still stuck at square one, having only taken a baby step forward. Which wasn’t good enough. Far from it. 

While your internal cogs were still spinning away at your raison d'etre, so to speak, Raihan had told you he had already decided what Pokemon he wanted for his Championship team. He knew what he wanted. How nice for him. Apparently, he had so many Pokemon already that he decided he was going to keep them in rotation for different occasions, as any good trainer should. You recalled that you too would switch up a few of your core team players for other prospective Pokemon, depending on who you were facing. It was a good maneuver, for sure – if you had a full team and then some.

Imagine having a full team already. Couldn’t be you, at least not this time around.

Considering how you couldn’t come up with even a single name of a Pokemon you wanted, you opted to join him in searching for one of the few he was looking for. Perhaps that would aid you in choosing your first Pokemon for yourself.

“When it comes to putting dragon Pokemon to good use, I’m not picky about their types.” The walk over to Motostoke Riverbank was nearly over, and you could see a bridge in the distance. Despite the two of you having only been out for mere minutes, the persistent sun provided heat like a sauna and made minutes seem like hours, and a short walk seem like a marathon. During the descent down the long steps from Motostoke’s entrance way, you had removed your jacket and stuffed it in your bag in an attempt to alleviate some of the heat on your body. You were out here to look for Pokemon, and being soaked head to toe in sweat would be distracting, to say the least.

“Really.” You answered to occupy the silence, at least to indicate that you had been listening.

“Yeah! There are Pokemon perfect for the job all over the place. Probably even in the tall grass over there.” 

Raihan had made a vast gesture over the area in front of you and you could tell that he didn’t really mean literally, but figuratively. It must have been nice to be a certain type of trainer, or at least one that had a theme; it meant you only had to focus on one aspect when considering Pokemon. Part of you had considered going down this route, although facing off against all Gym Leaders would become much more difficult if you were to do so. You had a hard-enough time deciding what Pokemon you wanted without having to adhere to a certain type, so narrowing your options would surely prove to make things worse for you.

“But what I’m looking for…” Raihan began again, filling the silence and tearing your focus away from your train of thought. “Is right over there.”

You followed his gaze to a Pokemon stepping lazily around in the intense daylit haze. It looked like a turtle Pokemon, one that you had seen many times in the past. You recognized it instantly, your face lighting up.

“A Torkoal!” What a sight for sore eyes! That meant there was Pokemon you recognized from the Hoenn region inhabiting Galar. The sight of the coal Pokemon might’ve just been your saving grace, in its own way.

“Right,” Raihan reached in to the pocket of his hoodie and retrieved a Pokeball. “Now watch and learn how The Great Raihan does it!”

You glanced up half-heartedly, eyebrows drawn in as it took every fibre of your being to resist rolling your eyes. But you obeyed and sat back and watched, curiosity piqued, as Raihan engaged in battle with the tortoise-like Pokemon.

Due to the cockiness of his statement, you were reluctant to admit it, but saying that you were impressed would be an understatement. It came as no surprise that his partner of choice was Duraludon, and while you had witnessed its impressive skills on TV, like most things, seeing it in person made it all the better. The Torkoal had attempted to use posion first – it gave its best shot with Clear Smog, hurling a clump of toxic matter towards Raihan and his Duraludon, who were both unfazed by the move; the poison having no affect on the alloy Pokemon. Raihan expertly countered it with Body Press, which unfortunately for the Torkoal, did quite a number on it. Not exactly enough to knock it clean out of consciousness, but just as much to be nearly there.

“Wait! Don’t let it faint!” 

The words were said before you could stop yourself. Blood rushing to your cheeks, you slapped your hands over your mouth as Raihan glanced back at you, his expression reading both amusement and slight irritation, but it was not unkind. Regrettably, your little outburst did give the Torkoal enough time to regain composure and fire off another attack at its aggressors – literally – as it rolled itself into a wheel composed of flames and charged directly at Duraludon, landing a successful hit on the otherwise unsuspecting pair. Unlike the first attack, this left the alloy Pokemon with a nasty burn. 

Your face paled at the sight and you quickly opened your bag, fumbling around for a Burn Heal you had purchased earlier on that day. As your fingers closed around the familiar shape of the bottle, you wasted no time in retrieving it and tossing it to Raihan with a shout. He nodded his thanks at you, and treated Duraludon’s burn quickly, readying him to return to the fight. 

Did you really do that? And why? It wasn’t like you didn’t believe in Raihan. You did, without a doubt. You knew he was a gym leader and a skilled one at that, yet something inexorable bubbled up within the depths of you and demanded to be said, causing you to shout out in the way that you had. Almost as if you felt the explicit need to tell him what to do. But why? Just because you were a Champion? You continued to watch the battle, guilt-ridden and anxious, feeling now like a kid who was accidentally witnessing something they weren’t supposed to. You had unintentionally caused trouble to those around you, and you couldn’t shake the feeling that perhaps Raihan no longer wanted you to watch him anymore. But the gym leader displayed no signs of feeling this way, and instead showed that he was one to bounce back quick, wrapping up the battle in no time by hitting the Torkoal with Breaking Swipe before tossing an Ultra Ball at it.

One.

Two.

Three shakes of the Pokeball, and a familiar, victorious click. The Pokemon was his.

Scrambling to your feet as Raihan casually strode over to the black Pokeball laying in the grass, you debated on congratulating him for the catch. While you wanted to do so terribly, the guilt from the incident kept you from saying as much. Instead, you cleared your throat as you followed tentatively behind, your legs feeling like they had been replaced by stone pillars as you took little, gradual steps at the pace of molasses. 

“I am so sorry. I don’t even know what came over me,” You squeaked, your brain working at a million miles a minute to formulate what else to say. But you drew a blank. You weren’t even sure what sort of excuse you could throw at him, since you yourself were unaware of the reasons in which you did what you did. And as you nervously watched Raihan turn back to you, wincing as you expected a glare, the sight you were met with caused you to ease up at once: He had the same carefree, toothy grin plastered on his face as he always did.

“That’s okay. Itching to get back into battle again, eh? I can tell.” Raihan slipped the Ultra Ball into the same pocket that it emerged, sauntering back over to Duraludon and rubbing its head gently; the Dragon Pokemon letting out a cry of joy at the victorious outcome. Pressing its Pokeball against its head, Raihan uttered caring words under his breath before looking at you again. “I’m done here, so what do you say we get a start on your team, princess?”

Even after messing up his battle, he still called you by such an endearing nickname. You had been sure that he would have been furious, but his demeanor and voice showed he was far from it. Unsure of whether this might change, you stared at him for a moment longer, but his smile was unwavering. It was then you decided that he was definitely unbothered. Exhaling deeply, you nodded. 

“Yeah. That might be a good idea.”

X X X

A Sylveon. 

That was what he had suggested. What in Arceus’ name was a Sylveon, anyway? According to Raihan, it was a great fairy Pokemon with a fantastic moveset, and it also ‘suited you’ – whatever that was supposed to mean. Such a statement made you feel somewhat self-conscious, as you had never seen the Pokemon before and weren’t sure what sort of implications came with this type of comment. Was he insulting you? No way…Probably. But then again, you did throw off his game earlier, so maybe in a way, it was to get you back. Though that also seemed highly unlike him. Probably.

“Well how do I go about getting a Sylveon?”

The two of you now sat facing each other in a carriage, en route to Route 4, where the pre-evolution of Sylveon – Eevee – inhabited. After the short battle at the Riverbank, Raihan had insisted that the two of you take a Flying Taxi, serving as your next new experience in Galar. When you protested that walking was more immersive when it came to having a journey, the Dragon Tamer simply replied that you would do plenty of that once the Galar League started. What was happening now was ‘pre-journey’, as he called it, and once the league really started, that’s when you’d officially be on a journey. So, as he rationalized, cutting corners now was fine while you still could. None of that really made any sense to you, but you concluded that arguing with him was futile, and that you couldn’t just go on your merry way alone; thus you decided to give in to his idea. And in spite of originally being against the proposition, once the taxi arrived, you were suddenly very excited to ride in it, throwing all of your inhibitions out the window at once. This was a Flying Taxi – a carriage carried by a large and intimidating raven Pokemon (which was identified as a Corviknight after you had pulled out your RotomPhone) and a Cabbie was to ride on the saddle attached to this ginormous flying beast, directing it where to go. The whole sight itself had been stunning, but once a man donning an aviator hat and goggles had greeted the two of you, you had found yourself even more dumbfounded, simply due to the way he was dressed. While you had already been uncomfortably warm in your thin anorak jacket, this man seemed to have no problem staying in his bomber style coat despite the sweltering heat and the belligerent beams of the sun beating down on the Wild Area, uninterrupted by any clouds or wind. If only you could have such dedication. If you were to ever decide to drop out of the Galar League and give up on becoming Champion, you decided that you would never choose to become a Cabbie, as you would probably be unable to last even so much as a day. 

During the ride, Raihan had also taken care of explaining the method of obtaining the fairy evolution, and that it couldn’t be obtained simply from the wild. Apparently evolving it was a bit different than how you might normally evolve a majority of Pokemon and the process involved frequently playing with it, engaging it, and maximizing its friendship level with you. Only then were you able to evolve it into a Sylveon.

“And what does it look like? How will I know? What if I get it wrong?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see! Don’t worry, though. You’ll know it when you see it.”

“Wow. You are super helpful, you know that?”

“I’m glad you think so, princess.”

 _’All right, then. Keep your secrets.’_ You thought with a huff. Would you really know it when you saw it? You were sure that in all your years as Hoenn Champion, you had never set sights on a Sylveon before, so how was he so sure you would know? The whole conversation was meant to help you, but if anything, it had you in a state of disarray and you were now more confused than you were before; which you hadn’t thought possible. A part of you contemplated simply looking up a Sylveon on Gloomgle. But, if he decided it was worth the element of surprise, then perhaps it really was, and there was no use in spoiling a surprise someone else insisted upon. Since you did ruin his battle earlier, the least you could do was follow through with this. You owed him that much.

“Since we’re here, I wonder if we’ll run into Milo. You should see it for yourself – he’s always got Wooloo following him around, almost like he’s some kind of international pop sensation, but most of his die-hard fans are Sheep Pokemon.” Raihan mused as he stared out the window of the carriage.

You gave Raihan a puzzled look. Was that some sort of metaphor? Milo, as he had mentioned the previous night, was the first gym leader you would be facing once the Galar League commenced. You did recall him saying that the Grass gym would be a breeze, which had made you dismiss it from your thoughts, but once Raihan had brought this up, you were left wondering once more. Was this individual seriously always pursued by adoring sheep, dying for an autograph wherever he went and bleating his name over and over?

Before you could ask, Raihan had nodded towards the sights outside. “Hey, looks like we’re pretty much here now!”

At this, you glanced outside at once and caught sight of a large emerald and violet coloured stadium in the distance, situated amid a countryside landscape, a large circular emblem with a leaf adorning the entrance-side. Surrounding it was a quiet little hamlet that made Motostoke look like the biggest city in the world. Preceding the quiet town, were rows and rows of what looked like wheat, sectioned off by little rows of stone bricks. You could’ve sworn you saw some Pokemon running through the crop but considering your altitude and the height of the wheat growing, you couldn’t be sure.

“This is it!” The Cabbie called through the window. “Turffield!”

Within a couple of minutes, you were once again back on solid ground, exiting the carriage and thanking the Cabbie for the ride. You made a mental note that even if you were dead set on walking or possibly biking as your main source of transportation, you would consider taking a Flying Taxi again while you were in the region. Too bad you couldn’t take one of those with you back to Hoenn. 

“So?”

“What?” You cocked your head to the side, a small smile spreading across your lips.

“How'd you like it?”

“Okay. I admit that maybe I was too quick to dismiss the Flying Taxi…” You stated and noticing that he continued to look at you: “And that it was pretty awesome.”

“See, told you! An experience you needed to have at least once, right? And that’s only in Galar, so you should be glad I told you about it.”

“Pfft! If you didn’t tell me, I’m sure someone else would have! Like… Sonia, or maybe Kabu…”

“Maybe, but it makes it all the better because you got to ride with me. Not a lot of people can say they got to ride with The Great Raihan, you know.” 

As he winked at you, you rolled your eyes, the smile still present on your face. It was indeed a pleasant ride, and you were sure that once the League began, his statement would hold more weight to it. That was probably going to be your first and last ride with him in a while, and unbeknownst to you, that statement meant more than just his preoccupied time during the League; as he primarily used his Flygon as a main source of transportation.

“Uh-huh, sure. Anyway… Where do we find an Eevee?” You turned away from him and looked off towards the sea of gold surrounding you. “Wait. Let me guess. In the field. Hidden in the crop.”

“Yup. Come on, let’s go. They’re sort of rare around here, so we might be looking for a while. Why don’t we split up to cover more ground?” Raihan suggested as he strode ahead of you, branching off slightly to the left. “I’ll be over here if you need me!”

“Alright, and don’t worry – I’m sure I won’t! I’ll be able to find it for myself, you’ll see!” 

How hard could this be? Surely the Eevees weren’t that rare.

Oh, how wrong you had turned out to be. You must have encountered at least 200 other Pokemon since you started your search, none of which were Eevees. While you did manage to come across old and new Pokemon, as well as fill up several slots in your Pokedex, that was not what you were here to do and that left you frustrated. One look at your RotomPhone showed that two hours had elapsed since your search began. During that time, once or twice Raihan had called out to you, asking if you had found one, but you responded with disappointment every time. The Dragon Tamer supposedly didn’t have any better luck. Perhaps you just weren’t looking for the right Pokemon. Realizing that you had no idea what an Eevee even looked like, and whether or not it would appear frolicking around or ambush you in the tall lengths of wheat, you spoke to the people loitering around the fields, eager for some advice. Coincidentally one of the kids you spoke to was dressed up as an Eevee; and she just so happened to have one as her partner as well, which she was over the moon to show you. From what she told you, she caught it in the vicinity, which caused you to become slightly flustered at the fact that this kid had caught one so simply and easily, and yet it seemed to be an impossible task for you. The kid – Mia, had also asked you excitedly for a battle but you declined politely before she could properly force you into one. Not that you didn’t think your new Axew could take her… But that was beside the point. No time for dillydallying. More importantly…

_’I swear I am being pranked. Does an Eevee even exist in Route 04!? The only Pokemon around here seem to be Electrikes, Meowths, Pumpkaboo, Yampers – I might’ve seen a Pikachu or two, but that is it! And I don’t think it’s in the tall grass... ‘Cause, let’s see, so far I have been ambushed by Wooloos, Milcerys, Joltiks, and Budew but I have yet to get jumped by an Eevee. There is no way it exists amongst these Arceus-forsaken stacks of wh—‘_

“Hey, I caught one!”

What.

“I didn’t want it to get away, so I hope you don’t mind that I caught it for you. It's yours!”

Slowly turning around on your heels, you peered at the source of the voice speaking to you, your gaze meeting pools of cyan. Beaming, Raihan’s face was kind-hearted as he held out an Ultra Ball and you knew he meant well. He was just trying to help. Catching an Eevee rarely warranted an Ultra Ball and here he was with one in hand, just for you. You tried to smile back a sincere smile; you really did. At least, as much as you could muster as you felt a sinking and obscure feeling gripping at your innards, your lungs filling with something akin to concrete as you noticed a profound pressure growing within you. Your palms were sweaty, and your forehead might have been too. Whether it was from the effort of the afternoon, or something else, you didn’t know. 

After realizing the intergalactic silence between you two, you physically forced yourself to speak, practically choking in the process.

“O-Oh. Thanks!” You said, your appreciation not really showing through. “That’s… really great! Now that means our search is over!” 

Hopefully you didn’t sound as sarcastic as you thought you did.

“Finally, right?” Raihan chuckled, his sharp canines practically shining in the remnants of the afternoon sun. 

Slowly, you plucked the Ultra Ball from his hand with a delicate effort as if it were made of glass. 

_It’s yours!_

How very nice of him, truly. And yet, despite such a nice gesture, you weren’t sure why you were feeling the emotions you were feeling right now. What could this be exactly? You felt almost… Stressed? Agitated. And above all, humiliated. That’s it. Such an immense feeling of humiliation swelled inside you that you could have been physically immersed in it, drowned really, with an anchor tied to your ankle, plunging you further into its dark depths. This indeed meant that the search was over and it should have been an exciting accomplishment! This meant you could proceed to look for the rest of your team! You were one full step closer to obtaining a six-stack for your entrance into the Galar League.

So, if that was the case, why couldn’t you have been genuinely happy about this?

“Yeah. Finally.” Your voice was flat as you slipped the Pokeball into your backpack, a slight pang of guilt stabbing at your heart as you caught sight of the Pokeball your Salamence rested in. You were a Champion, weren’t you? If so, why were you unable to even do something so easy as catch an Eevee? Someone else had to catch it for you, and that stung.

“And to celebrate, what do you say we get some curry on? I’m starving!” 

“Sure,” Cooking! You could do that, in fact, you were great at it! This was your shot at redemption, and at least this way, you could show your appreciation for him helping you. “Let’s set up camp back at the Wild Area.”

X X X 

So, you might have jumped the gun a bit too soon. You realize now you didn’t know how to cook curry. You knew how to make rice, you knew how to make pancakes, you knew how to make filet mignon, you even knew how to make a full-blown rotisserie chicken. Hell, you were practically a professional Pokeblock chef to top it all off, but you didn’t know curry. Out of all of the things you were taught to make, curry was not one of the things ever taught to you. Not by your father, not by your mother – who wouldn’t have taught you even if she was around more often – and not by anyone else. But it was too late now. You had practically snatched the pot from your backpack once camp had been successfully set up (you had set it up yourself and you were proud) and insisted on going straight to cooking. Raihan had not objected, but instead said he was excited to taste the curry you made. After such a statement, who could back out? 

And now as you stood over the empty pot, you nervously fixated your stare ahead of you, as if maybe a Natube video might magically appear in front of your eyes with full-blown instructions on how to concoct the most delectable gourmet curry. But no such thing happened. Instead, your focus landed on Raihan playing with his Pokemon: Duraludon, Flygon, as well as a Sandaconda and Gigalith you had briefly met. Your Axew and Eevee also crowded around the bunch, enjoying the company of other friendly Pokemon. Ah yes. If only your Axew or Eevee knew how to cook, then you could ask them; but unfortunately for you even if they did know, you were not proficient in the Eevee or Axew language, and as they were fairly young Pokemon, the only food-related activity they would excel at would be the consumption of it.

_’How hard can this be? I bet making curry is like cooking most other things! You just gotta… Start from square one… I got this!’_

If any self-respecting Pokemon cook were to witness the next series of events, it would be enough to bring them to tears and contemplate retiring the cooking field altogether. Putting it lightly, your choice of berries was not optimal, and you had neglected to include a key ingredient. Not that you needed one necessarily, but one was always nice to have, especially for added flavour and substance – not that you knew this, of course. Assembling the roux had been a nightmare, and when it came time to heat up the pot, you had fanned the flames with a near threatening force, causing the mixture to burn; you realized this at once when you stood up to stir. Your heart dropped. You weren’t even done, and it looked hideous. If it looked this bad, you could not imagine how it must have tasted. 

By now, your companions were looking at you rather curiously, your Axew and Eevee slowly approaching you, likely curious what the burning stench was. You did look up at Raihan, who you noticed had not even so much as glanced in your direction since you began, and you were no longer sure if he was too engrossed in his phone, too busy playing, or too ashamed to look at you and cause you a great deal of embarrassment. Regardless, the curry was ruined, and you knew it. Your Pokemon knew it. Raihan’s Pokemon knew it, and he probably knew it too. But you had to serve something, and you refused to let the situation proceed awkwardly by starting over entirely despite spending a long-time cooking. Then he would really know something was up if he didn’t already. And that would lead to him offering his help – which was something you wanted none of. If it weren’t for running into him yesterday in the Wild Area, you wouldn’t even have anyone to help you anyway.

Thus, you stirred with conviction and eventually served the sludge over a pile of rice. You never had curry, so who knows? Maybe it was supposed to look this way, with its slightly ill smelling steam and its somewhat curdled looking texture. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as you thought. Could just be an acquired taste.

“Dinner is ready!”

“Great!” Raihan called out, pushing himself up from the patch of grass he had been occupying. His Pokemon looked up curiously as well, but you noted that unlike Raihan, they did not approach you and instead looked a bit...queasy. Maybe they weren't hungry. As the gym leader sauntered over to you, you kept your eyes glued to his face for any indication of disgust or contempt. But none of these emotions made a single even ripple in his perfect smile. In fact, he seemed relatively calm and jovial as usual, almost as if there wasn't an abhorrent odor emitting from the pot in front of you.

You handed him a plate; never breaking eye contact as you did so. Expression unchanging, he grabbed a spoon and picked up a heap of the so-called food you had made. 

“Looks fantastic! I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” 

And then he took a bite.

Silence. Raihan had chewed the food a maximum of twice, but since then, had kept the spoon in his mouth, his jaw clenched around it. He had been looking at you for the longest time, and finally he ripped his gaze away and swallowed what looked like a large lump of food. Putting the plate down, he turned away completely as he pulled up his hood, yanking on the strings of his hoodie and keeping you from the sight of his nauseated face. And as you watched his back, you could have sworn you saw him tremble.

Whatever sort of reaction you were expecting, it certainly wasn't that.

“Raihan?" You tried to catch a glimpse of his front side but to no avail. As far as you were concerned, he was completely cocooned in his hoodie. "You good? How is it?” As if you had to ask.

“Uh… Its…” Raihan began slowly. After a while he managed to shift back towards you, lowering the hood off his head with a smile on his face – albeit a somewhat forced looking one. “…Unique! Yeah.”

In other words, it was atrocious, and you should feel bad for making it.

“Ugh. Don’t give me that. It’s horrible, right? You don’t have to lie to me, I can tell it’s bad.”

Although Raihan wouldn’t tell you this personally, you knew your answer once you looked down at your Pokemon that had taken to eating his unoccupied plate. The expression on their faces after one bite was enough to let you know you had royally messed up. Sighing in exasperation, you threw your hands up in despair and let them slap down at your sides. How could it only be day two and you were already messing up this bad? It seemed like everything was just going wrong now. First, you had been rudely awakened by a dream of something you had believed was buried and forgotten. That itself was enough to set the tone of the whole day and put you on edge. Then you went ahead and messed up Raihan’s catch, injuring his Duraludon in the process. And finally, you messed up two things that should have come natural to any trainer – catching Pokemon and cooking out in the wilderness. Slouching down, you buried your head in your palms. Had you really forgotten what it was like to do things on your own? To be a trainer, essentially? Maybe you had grown overconfident and let it all get to your head. Despite being an undefeated champion, you didn’t feel like one. 

“Arceus. I’m such a… sorry excuse of a trainer. I’m sorry. You can leave if you want, I really don’t want to trouble you anymore. This whole day has just been bad. I messed you up, I messed up catching the Eevee, and now I’ve messed up our dinner. I just want it to be over.”

“Hey, come on now, that’s just not true. You didn’t mess me up, you just got a little excited, that’s all. Happens to the best of us. And I caught the Eevee by complete chance – you were looking just as hard as I was.” Raihan slid an arm around you and grinned, this time a real one, brimming with encouragement and sympathy. “And dinner isn’t ruined, princess. Look, your curry didn’t kill me, so it couldn’t have been that bad, right? Let’s just start over, and I’ll give you a couple of pointers. You can still do all the cooking by yourself, too. Promise.”

“Really…?” Was all you managed to say in your disheveled state. You were already feeling a little bit better – even if he didn’t mean what he said, it was still reassuring to hear, especially when said in that soothing voice of his. In fact, practically anything he said could’ve made you feel better; even if he told you that you were the worst trainer in all of the regions combined and the only job you were destined for was the circus. 

But he wasn’t berating you, and he meant everything that he said. He made sure to convey that as he gripped your shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. 

“Really.”

“Okay. If you say so… Well maybe I could try some of my c—"

“Let’s do that after.” Raihan replied quickly as he slid the plate away from you before you could so much as look at it.

After emptying out the pot and plate into a spare trash bag, the two of you got cooking once more, Raihan suggesting that he pick the berries this time around. You didn’t protest to this idea, as you figured that while you may have been an expert at Pokeblocks, perhaps the berry selection for curries differed immensely from that of what you knew. Considering you didn’t have many berries left after the first fiasco, Raihan had volunteered to go and pick some. Not gone for long, the gym leader returned with a handful of bright berries, as well as what looked like a food can.

“I went to pick up something extra! You haven’t had curry before, right, so I have the perfect one in mind for you to try.”

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s better than what I make… Clearly all I’m capable of making is toxic waste.” You muttered under your breath.

“Don’t say that. You’re cooking this one too, all by yourself, remember?” 

Setting aside the ingredients he had picked, Raihan wasted no time in helping you get started on the roux, instructing you every step of the way. As promised, the dragon tamer stood back during the entire operation, keeping an eye on you as you followed his expert instructions. It turned out you didn’t need a famous five-star chef video on Natube to make good curry. By the time you were fanning the flames cooking that night’s dinner, the smell was so marvelous that it made your mouth water. While instructing you, he had made sure to let you know that there was a certain method to fanning the flames. It didn’t seem like much at first glance, but there were things you had to keep in mind, like... Don’t fan as if your life depended on it. It was important to create a large flame, but you weren’t to fan it with the intention of hitting your Pokemon and campsite with Max Flare. And when it came to stirring, you had to make sure to give it an even, vigorous stirring, but not to stir so quick that your clothing was served dinner instead of you. 

Finally, after an informative and successful cook, you had learned to execute the perfect curry. The final product did not look homemade at all, much less made at a camp and if he had told you that the dish was from the most expensive restaurant in all of Galar, you would have believed him.

“This is delicious!” You exclaimed, slipping what would be the second spoonful in your mouth. While it was still seething hot, it was simply too good to stop eating. You had quickly scooped up another spoonful, tempted to shovel the rest of the plate into your mouth, but you decided against it— not wanting to appear like a savage Snorlax, and not wanting to be left with a burnt tongue.

“You bet it is. This one is a ‘Dry Juicy Curry’. Thanks for dinner!” Raihan replied happily, swallowing a mouthful of the warm mixture as he looked out towards his Pokemon enjoying their plates. All the Pokemon seemed ecstatic with their food, crying out with sounds of joy and approval. Both of your new companions seemed much happier this time around than they had the last time they consumed a mouthful of curry, too. 

“Thank you, too, Raihan. You did help me a lot with it.”

“Don’t mention it. The Great Raihan is here to help anytime!” 

The two of you shared a laugh, as you turned back to your dinner. It was amazing – you couldn’t really believe that you had made this, especially when you were just stirring around burnt sewage sludge minutes before. Raihan really had helped you with quite a bit over the past two days, more than you were comfortable admitting. Realizing this, you couldn’t help but begin to feel a little sorry for yourself. You forced the feeling away and took in another spoonful. 

“But really, all you needed was a little push. You’re a pretty great chef on your own, princess.” 

Glancing back up to Raihan, your lips parted slightly in surprise. You were touched, but unsure of what to say, especially considering the only thing you had made for him was a mistake. A light blush tainted your cheeks as you sputtered, embarrassed, and confused at the compliment. You made a mental note to cook him something you were good at in the future, if you ever got the chance, to show him what a great chef you truly could be on your own. 

“Uh, thanks, but I think you’re forgetting the food I actually made…” 

“Nah, trust me, if you were really a bad chef you wouldn’t have been able to make this just from me telling you what to do. This delicious dinner we’re having now is what you made, on your own, and we should take a selfie to celebrate.”

You opened your mouth to object that again but decided perhaps it was best to just let it go. He was complimenting you, and after a long day of what seemed like failures, maybe it was time that you let yourself take the win and celebrate. Nodding, you set your plate down next to Raihan’s and stood as he did. 

“Let’s get a shot with the curry pot in the background.” He suggested. 

Standing close to one another as Raihan’s RotomPhone floated into the optimal angle, Raihan gave a toothy grin with a thumbs up as you held up a V-sign with a smile, appropriate for ‘victory’. The backdrop was composed nicely for the occasion, with the steaming curry pot, the fire burning just bright enough to create a warm illumination and all of your Pokemon happily enjoying their dinners together. 

“Wow, this is a great shot. Mind if I post it to Pikagram?” Raihan asked, glancing over at you after inspecting the photo and deeming it worthy of keeping. 

You leaned forward as well, gazing at the shot of the two of you. He was right. It was a nice photo. You began to wonder if you could ask him to send it to you later on but decided against it when you figured that would prompt another ‘Get a Pikagram’ conversation that you didn’t feel like having. After all, you did have a Pikagram - a Pikagram full of incriminating evidence that you were a Champion! There was no way you were going to add him on it. Doing that would ruin your whole ‘new-trainer-totally-not-a-champion’ persona you had set up for yourself – although after today’s events, it was beginning to feel a lot less like a persona and a lot more like who you might actually have become. Again, you forced the thoughts out of your mind and turned your focus back to Raihan, who was still looking at you curiously. 

“Oh, uh…” Not that you really minded, but you wondered if any of the other million people who liked Raihan would have minded. Nothing was happening in the photo, so it should’ve been safe. “I don’t mind. Up to you, I guess?”

“Then I’m posting it!” 

“Okay, but I’ll warn you now, if any Raihan fangirl threatens me, I’m coming for you.” You uttered in an ominous tone with a smirk on your face. You did realize after the fact that Raihan was quite a bit bigger than you and any ‘coming for you’ that you did would probably be thwarted right away, but that didn’t stop you from having your fun. 

“It’ll be fine!” Raihan laughed. “Besides, my fans like to see me happy and it’s been a great day. Taking a selfie is the best way to remember it by.”

“Even if I monumentally screwed up basically the entire day?”

“What’re you talking about?” The two of you had sat back down once more, finishing up what remained of dinner as you conversed. Raihan had instructed his RotomPhone to post the photo, and when prompted to come up with a caption, he chose: _With the 5 star chef so you know we eatin’ tonight [OK-hand] #galarsbestcurry_

Giggling as you watched the caption being typed out, you slid the last spoonful of curry in your mouth before setting the plate down by your feet, gazing off towards your Pokemon interacting with his.

“I mean, all day long I just acted like a complete fool. Even if you say I didn’t, I know I did. You ended up coming to my rescue for two days in a row now, so that must be a lot, even for The Great Raihan.” Then, with a bitter and short laugh, “I must seem pretty hopeless, huh?”

Raihan, who had finished his curry as soon as he had posted the photo, now turned over to you as he set his plate aside, and this time when you turned to meet his gaze, you were met with an earnest look. One that seemed almost out of place for such a perpetually cheerful person.

“Didn’t you hear me when I said, ‘The Great Raihan is always here for you’?”

“Yeah, I do remember hearing you say that.”

“Exactly. And you didn’t act like a fool. Everyone makes mistakes. You just got here too, of course you’re not going to know things. Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah…I…” You hesitated. It didn’t help that the look of seriousness on his face was somewhat intimidating, and you felt almost small and skittish as he looked at you with such intensity. “I guess I did.”

“Right, and I did too. So, I don’t think you screwed anything up.” Raihan leaned forward, bringing his face impossibly close to yours; a blush creeping up your neck as the warmth of his breath tickled your skin. “In fact, I think I’m lucky to have met you.”

And with that, he closed the distance between you two, pressing his lips against yours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh thank you everyone for the Kudos, comments and subscriptions! ;-; I'm really happy my story has been gaining positive reactions, and since I haven't written in a while before this (I mostly roleplayed) I've been trying to get my footing back with this story. I hope you all stick with me through this!
> 
> I ended up updating a bit later than I planned since I had impacted wisdom teeth that were getting pretty bad, so I took a bit of a break before and after the surgery. During the time I was in pain, I had a bunch of ideas for where this story could go; thus this is a bit of a longer chapter since I wanted to get the pacing going and I tried to fit a lot of the "slow" action into this. A little bit after this chapter is when the action starts picking up! *-* 
> 
> Some side notes:  
> \- Depending on which game you played, an Eevee would have either a 1% or 5% spawn rate. Since I'm going by Sword, an Eeevee has the former spawn rate in Route 04.  
> \- Justtt in case anyone was wondering when Raihan says 'we eatin'' he meant more like a victory instead of actually eating LOL (but in a way he means that too, so pun intended)


	7. On the Outside, Looking In (What He Heard)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things that he had hoped he wouldn't have to hear, especially from you
>
>> **"Trying hard to kill the crazy voice inside of me  
>  All these little things, that the ego brings  
> Deal with what is real instead of fuel the self-esteem”**
> 
>   
>  _Ego Killer | Eligh & Amp Live_  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An interlude of sorts.

_By definition, Raihan was a good person. He was practically the poster child of the concept. Ask anyone and they would tell you the same._

_Like most good-natured people, a quality that he possessed was patience - a surprisingly vast amount of it, at that. Truly it took a lot to really rock him, and while his ability to take things in stride was impressive, it dulled in comparison to his extraordinary ability to put up with a tremendous amount of Granbull shit. And at a time like this, as he stood before you, staring down at the insolent look on your face and taking in the daggers you had been fiercely glaring into him, such a skill came in handy. Many others would not have been able to keep a level head like he did, especially as they were being yelled at for no good reason at all._

You didn't need to be listening to this.

The two of you had been arguing for a couple of minutes now, and while it had begun as a peaceful conversation, one thing had led to another, and you had ended up shouting at him. Of course, his first reaction was to try and calm you down - he didn't say as this directly, as even he knew it was a bad idea to tell someone angry to calm down - but he had been using a certain tone with you. A tone that sounded rather condescending, at least in your mind. Listening to him speak this way made you rescind your earlier comment about his voice being calming. The way he said things now sounded nothing but patronizing to you, and only served to provoke you even further. His words, his voice... All of it was downright annoying.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you drew in a sharp, shaky breath as you counted to three, six, then ten - a useless attempt at trying to calm yourself down, which clearly had no effect on you. _“It’s okay to mess up sometimes. It happens. Everyone slips up.”_ Was what he had said, but you heard it more as: 'That's the way the cookie crumbles. Maybe you aren't cut out for this.' (Which was not at all the message he was trying to convey.) Right. So he said, but what did he know? He had no right to say that as if he understood your circumstances. After all, he wasn't a seven-year reigning champion of a region. In fact, he hadn't even been champion once. Therefore you strongly believed that he was not in the position to tell you those sorts of things. Empathy was the last thing you wanted right now, especially if it was from him. 

“No, it is not okay. You don’t get it.” You were annunciating the syllables of each word very slowly while incorporating the same faux-patient tone one might use when scolding a child. With the way you were going at it, you may as well have been telling a four-year-old that a live Pikachu's tail was not a toy, and it was not okay to bite it. “I'm supposed to be 'the best' and suddenly it’s like I can’t do anything myself. Do you even know what that's like?"

In hindsight, there were plenty of better ways you could have phrased that, and it didn't occur to you then just how conceited you sounded. All you could focus on was the anger bubbling dangerously inside of you, so when a twinkle of amusement sparked in the gym leader's turquoise eyes, it only further fueled the frenzied wildfire consuming you. Was he trying to make you mad? Of course he was. Someone like that couldn't ever take _anything_ seriously, you thought as you narrowed your eyes.

“Whoa, and I thought I was cocky,” What was initially a poorly thought-out attempt to lighten the atmosphere ended up coming across as more of a sarcastic retort, especially as Raihan blew out a low whistle and averted his gaze from you. You were livid. 

“It’s not about being cocky!” Your voice rose as your anger skyrocketed to an all-time high at the thoughtless comment he had thrown at you. If any Pokemon had been in the tall grass before, they were definitely scared away by now. “You don’t know how much pressure is riding on me for this! I... I- ”

You stopped. You couldn’t have just shouted that you were a Champion right then and there, and despite your growing desire to tell him, you refused to do so under these circumstances. The league hadn't even started, so doing so now of all times would also ruin everything you had set up for yourself. But there was more to it than that, wasn’t there? You knew there were other reasons why you didn’t want to explicitly state who you were, and it was more than just ‘blowing your cover.’ If it ever came time for you to tell Raihan you were a Champion, you were certain that your title was as much as you would ever divulge. And like everyone who knew you, he would remain in the dark about the things that happened during your reign. Those things were best left buried. However, now was not the time for that. Here in the present, the two of you were arguing, and he still didn't seem to be understanding the direness of your situation.

But how could you expect him to be, when you wouldn't even give him the slightest hint as to why you were feeling the way you were?

It was Raihan's turn to draw in a deep, exhausted breath. He was trying his best, but his patience was beginning to wear thin. All he could think about was why this happening. Did people really get mad at things like this? Hadn’t things been going well between the two of you? He thought as much, but clearly you didn’t reciprocate.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I didn't mean that." Raihan said gently. "But I do get it. I mean, a lot of pressure is riding on me too - There’s a lot of pressure on all of us. It may not seem like I understand, but I do. I've been through the gym challenge before too, and even as a gym leader, I still deal with a lot of stress. You don’t think I worry what happened to Kabu might happen to me one day? The point is, I get in my head about stuff like this too. It happens, but you can't let it bother you.”

“That isn’t the same at all!” You shouted; fists clenched at your side, your nails digging into the palms of your hands. Deep down you knew that you were being unreasonable, angry for no reason. He was right, what he said did align with how you felt, in a way, but realizing this only made you angrier.

“What is it then?” Raihan was being exceptionally patient with you. If it had been anyone else, he would have uttered something dismissive and ended the argument there, or simply walked away. You were a different case, though. He didn’t know why, but something inside him told him he wasn't about to walk away on you unless you made him. Which hadn’t happened yet, so there was still a chance that the two of you could talk this out and salvage… whatever the two of you had. Which was now a big blur of unknown, especially after the events of last night. “You don’t want to disappoint Kabu? No matter what, you won’t disappoint him. You heard him, he said he believes in you. Even Leon believes in you. And like I said, I believe in you too.”

“You don't – “ You attempted to say something to counter this allegation, but Raihan continued to speak over you.

“If I don’t get it then help me get it. What’s bothering you? We were having a great time before this, weren’t we? So, what happened? You can tell me anything, you know I’m here to listen.”

“Could you stop saying that?! All it feels like is that I’m useless. Everything you’ve done to help me makes me feel that way, and I’m sick of it! Why did I even come here if you’re just going to do everything for me!” Clearly talking - or rather, shouting - this whole situation out was a very bad idea and you knew the angrier you became, the more likely it would be for you to say things you didn't mean. Your emotions were controlling you more than you were controlling them now. Maybe things would have gone over much more smoothly if you decided to confide in him, telling him the truth rather than concealing everything. But you couldn't, you wouldn't allow yourself to. Even if you knew that you might have gone so far off the edge at this point, possibly losing someone who had shown you nothing but kindness; and that transparency might be the only thing able to save this, it didn’t matter. You still couldn’t bring yourself to tell him even the smallest of hints. You couldn't, you wouldn’t and that was that. 

“I was never trying to say you’re bad at what you do, or that you’re useless. All I wanted was to help you out. I know you came here alone without knowing anything, so I just did what I thought was right.”

“No. Stop. Just… leave me alone." You snapped. This was it. The point of no return. "Don’t get in my way anymore. I don’t need you treating me like a princess just because you call me that, and I don’t need your help... If anything, all you've done is make things way more complicated than they needed to be.”  


Raihan was shocked. But he was also let down. He had thought a lot of things about you, but he never thought you to be one for blind accusations and unreasonable behaviour, especially not to this degree. He didn’t know what to think or what to make of all of this. All he knew was that he had done nothing to warrant being treated this way. He wanted to be understanding, and more than that, he wanted to help you, and he really did try. But there was no helping someone that didn’t want it. Only one thing was for certain now, and that was his company and help was no longer welcome.

“Wow. If that’s what you call helping these days…” Raihan muttered, his voice spiked with an intimidating harshness, sending chills down your spine. It seemed for a second as if he wanted to say something more, but changed his mind. Instead, he smiled at you – a smile that was much different from the plenty you had seen before. One brimming with bitterness and something that looked a bit like betrayal. “You know what, forget it. I’m sorry I ‘got in your way’. If that’s how you feel, then fine. Cool. You won’t be hearing from me again. Good luck with whatever, and I’ll see you if you make it to my gym.”

Without another word, the Dragon Tamer turned his back to you and walked away. 

You crossed your arms as you watched his back growing smaller and smaller as he walked further and further away from you. _'What's his problem? Why did he have to go and pick a fight?'_

Raihan disappeared around a corner, and you were once again, undeniably alone. Back at square one. At this moment, the anger within you evaporated into thin air, as if it hadn't been there in the first place, leaving you with the tarnished remains of a friendship lost to temper. Had that really happened?

_’Wait. No... It's my fault. It's all my fault. Raihan was just trying to help me. What's wrong with me? I didn't mean any of that...'_

You tried to call out, but the words died in your throat. Stumbling forward a few steps, you attempted to follow down the path that he had walked but by the time you turned the corner, he was completely out of sight.

It was too late. He was gone.

You placed a hand against your forehead, your facial features wrinkled with stress and confusion. 

_How did you get yourself into this?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the kudos, subscriptions and bookmarks as always! I appreciate it a lot! ^^ 
> 
> So this chapter is a little different, and I decided to omit what led up to the argument in this chapter to sort of emphasize what's going on. It'll be covered in the next chapter though! The events that lead to the argument, the aftermath and more will be covered shortly after :) (Reader acts a bit difficult in this but it'll be revealed why in the next few chapters.)  
>   
> 


	8. Stay With Me in the Moment (What We Felt)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you try and recall the events that lead to the argument. Why and how did it transpire? Everything was going so well, too.
>
>> **I’m so over this overthinkin' mind  
>  Leave all of your inhibitions behind  
> Tonight let’s test all the borderlines like-**  
> 
> 
> _Indigo | 88rising × NIKI_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff gets a little hot in this chapter, towards the end. Feel free to skip over that if you're not keen on reading it!

You thought long and hard about the things you said as you walked aimlessly in the Wild Area, replaying the scene in your head for what must have been the millionth time. With nowhere else to go and not in the mood for anything, you headed in the only direction you knew – Motostoke.

The more you thought of it, the more embarrassed and ridiculous you felt. You, yelling at him over something you couldn’t remember being upset about, and the look he gave you as you were doing so… The mere image of his face brought a pang to your chest and you clenched your teeth, cringing at the vivid scene in your head. What stood out the most to you was that you had told him to stay out of your way… Ironic, considering he was the reason you had gotten as far as you had. You felt like an idiot realizing that now instead of in the heat of the moment. And the yelling? Not at all necessary. 

As you looked up and caught sight of the familiar brick walls, you knew you had work to do, plenty of it, and now that your so-called ‘distraction’ was gone you could get to it. But you knew that any attempts you put forward now would be fruitless; because here in the moment you were sick with worry and humiliation, your stomach doing somersaults and tying itself into every knot known to mankind with every thought of the things you had said during the argument. As a tidal wave of humiliation began washing over you, you were suddenly overcome with an intense desire to run away as far as you possibly could. To go anywhere but here (Hoenn, or maybe the moon.) Staring spitefully at the ground beneath your feet, you wished as hard as you could for a giant hole to open up beneath you and swallow you whole.

But no such thing happened.

 _’Ugh. Why did I even start acting like that in the first place?’_ Shaking your head as you started up the steps to Motostoke, you paused for a moment and gazed up at the entrance, the image of you and Raihan walking down side-by-side yesterday. With the situation bothering you as much as it did, you wondered for a moment if perhaps you should speak to someone about this. Kabu… Or even Sonia. But just as quickly as they appeared, you shoved the thoughts out of your mind and decided that wouldn’t do any good. Everyone was busy preparing for the league, and there was no use in dragging other people into your business. Dropping down on the steps and sighing deeply, you propped your elbow up on your thigh and rested your chin against your palm in thought, mentally tracing your steps back to the events which led up to this.

X X X

He had kissed you. You, of all people. Millions of women in Galar who you were sure were much prettier and he had kissed you, an ordinary stranger.

You didn’t know how to react, and in the midst of it, the first thing that jumped into your mind was: Why? Why would he kiss you? He was Raihan, the greatest gym leader in Galar and social media superstar, not to mention undeniably good-looking. The man probably had people sending gifts to his gym and his home on a daily basis, proclaiming their undying love and possibly asking him to bear their children. And you? You were just… Well, you. A perfect stranger to him. Was it even acceptable to kiss someone you barely knew, especially if you weren’t inebriated or had no intentions of hooking-up? The kiss was awkward and startling, from your standpoint, considering the only person you had kissed was someone you had thought you loved deeply, and that was most of the time sober. And on top of all of this, didn’t he have a girlfriend? You believed that must have been true, after all a prominent figure with a million followers definitely had to have some type of significant other… It was not feasible for him to be single, at least not in your mind. It had to be someone pretty, famous, skilled or a combination of all the above... like that model he told you about on his Pikagram. What about her?

Endless questions poured into a vast pool in your mind as you stared wide-eyed at Raihan; frozen awkwardly in place, mouth slightly ajar, not exactly reciprocating the kiss but not exactly pushing him off you. Finally, the gym leader had begun to pull away from you slowly, breaking the kiss. Though he didn’t say anything, as you looked into his aquamarine eyes fixated on you with a tantalizing gleam, his features slightly illuminated in the warm glow of the fire, you suddenly felt a deep sense of longing - craving his touch and his attention. The way he stared at you conveyed every possible sense of the word ‘want’ – He wanted you, and after seeing the way he looked at you, you knew you wanted him too. All the questions and doubts in your mind dissipated into the thin evening air around you as you slowly slid your arms around his neck, pressing your lips against his. Without missing a beat, Raihan wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close, deepening the kiss.

Everything that happened next became lost in the haze of lust, and the only thing you knew was that when your mind finally cleared, your tongue was wrestling with his and a jolt was sent up your spine as you felt a hand slide up your shirt. Gasping, you instinctively pulled away at the intrusive touch, scooting a few inches away as Raihan’s hand slipped back down to your lap. In the split second that your vision focused on his face before turning away, you had seen the look of subtle surprise laced with intrigue setting upon his features. 

“You alright?”

Glancing up at Raihan, you found that in your embarrassment, you were unable to meet his gaze. So instead, you focused your sights on a spot behind his shoulder; looking at him just enough to be polite but avoiding any direct eye contact.

“Y-Yeah! I just thought… Y-You know, it was late and it’s getting... cold, so... we should clean all of this up! Before, you know, uhm... it gets any colder?” You squeaked, feeling embarrassed of the stutter but thankful for the miracle that your voice didn't crack.

Raihan looked at you for what felt like an eternity, an unreadable expression on his face, before finally breaking into his usual lazy smile and answering with a simple: “Good idea.” 

While you had imagined that the cleanup process would be awkward considering your previous circumstance, you were pleasantly surprised to find that the conversation flowed like normal. Raihan had miraculously made you feel just as comfortable around him as you did before; as if the situation never occurred in the first place. He cracked light, cheerful jokes and told you more about potential Pokemon for your team as well as places where you might be able to find them. Within the ongoing conversation of mixed topics, the topic of Raihan’s social media stardom somehow found it’s way into the mix – You wondered if he had planned it all, calculating every move and ever photo carefully, but apparently it wasn’t planned in the slightest. At least, not at first. Raihan had not been seeking out fame when he started posting photos to Pikagram, he simply took selfies to remember the feeling of losing in order to keep pushing him forward. The fame just came naturally and he went along with it. It made people happy, and before he knew it, he found that it became a fun past-time for him. Social media was a tough addiction to kick once you were into it. 

On the topic of the Galar Gym Challenge, since most of the basics had been made known to you before, he decided to talk about the Pokemon he was training for the Championship – a Goomy he had caught, and a Turtonator. You already knew of the Torkoal – which you blushed bashfully when he mentioned it, remembering your little faux-pa, but he didn’t seem to notice.

But what caught and held your attention the most, was that he also went on to speak about his time in the Galar Gym Challenge several years ago, starting off much earlier than you at only ten years old. Apparently, he decided to become a Gym Leader when Leon defeated him at the Championship, but just because he decided to metaphorically switch lanes, he never lost hope of one day becoming Champion himself. He had been losing to Leon for 10 years now, but the losing streak never kept him from trying on an annual basis - Which was inspiring, you thought. And when you asked about his position as a Gym Leader, he had told you in great colourful detail all the ins-and-outs of his position as the Dragon-Type Gym Leader. You were impressed to learn that while you did witness his defeat on television, he elaborated that he was the only person who had ever taken out most of Leon’s Pokemon, making the matches close every time. (“Almost every one of his Pokemon?”  
“Almost. It’s just his Charizard that I can’t seem to get.”)  
All this talk about the Championship and the League made you wonder if had he gone to Hoenn, would he have been able to defeat you for your position? He would have been a formidable opponent, that was for sure. Although not as grand as facing off against Leon, you were beginning to get hyped up for the battle against Raihan, curious how the fight and the entire Gym Challenge would go down. You were determined not to lose before making it to Raihan’s gym, and when you would finally stand against him, you would make sure to give him a fight he would never forget. You’d show him how a Champion did it. 

When everything had finally been put away for the night and both your Pokemon were safely resting in their balls, you found yourself sitting beside Raihan in front of your tent. A soft lull of silence had fallen between the two of you, the only sounds coming from the whistling evening breeze that caressed your face gently, brushing stray strands of your hair to the side. Once or twice you wondered if you should say something but noticing that Raihan was looking out into the distance – possibly in deep thought, you decided against it.

It had been about 15 minutes or so until he finally spoke up.

“Well, today was a lot of fun princess, but I guess this is my cue to head back.”

Startled at the suddenness, you glanced at him as you felt him rise beside you, slipping his hands into his pockets as he fully stood up. He smiled casually yet gratefully down at you, his expression providing a silent thanks.

“Oh,” you started, unsure of what to say. Realistically, you should have simply said ‘okay’ and uttered a goodbye, even ‘have a safe journey back.’ If you were feeling particularly frisky, you could have also chimed in with a ‘see you again soon.’ But you continued with: “What’re you gonna do when you get back?”

What was that about!? Mentally kicking yourself for asking such an awkward question, you turned away from the gym leader and fixed your gaze on a patch of grass in front of you, which now looked more fascinating than it had the entire time you had been sitting there. 

“Uh, probably go to bed. I gotta get up early and head back out here again, start really cracking down on training.” Luckily Raihan didn’t seem to pay any mind to the awkwardness of your question – and if he did, he simply chose not to address it.

You felt a slight twinge of guilt and swallowed hard at his words. Was he behind since he had spent the past two days helping you?

“I’m sorry if it was a lot of trouble helping me out… I’m sure it put a hindrance on your training regimen, and I know you're busy...”

“It’s fine, two days is nothing princess. And like I said, anything you need, I’m here for you.”  


Smiling lightly, you had expected him to say as much. While a part of you wanted to keep apologizing, you figured there was no use hanging on the subject any longer after his response. If he said it was okay, then it was probably okay. 

“But hey, you should get a Pikagram! It’ll be easy for us to talk and keep in contact that way. Plus, as a bonus, you can always check out my selfies – I post a new one every day.”

And there it was! The Pikagram conversation. If only you could follow him from your regular account. Rolling your eyes, you giggled and shook your head lightly. “Okay okay. Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

“Cool. You know my user! ‘kbnraihan’, don’t forget.”

“I’m sure I won’t, I’ll probably type in ‘Raihan’ and you’ll come up.”

“Alright, and when you do, follow me! I’ll follow you back, don’t worry.” And with that, he held up a hand as he turned away. “Have a good night. I’ll see you around?”

 _See you around..._ You hummed in agreement as you mulled over the words he had spoken. You would very much so like to see him around, preferably sooner than later. And that was when an idea struck you. It was just a small, playful idea that you had no intention of saying out loud, so you were mortified when you realized the words had actually been vocalized before you could stop yourself.

**“You said you’re training in the Wild Area tomorrow right… Why don’t you just stay here then? I wouldn’t mind.”**

And thus, such a question asked was what led to you laying next to Raihan in the dark enclosed space that was your tent. The tent itself was barely big enough for two people since you had bought it with the intention of being roomy for just you and your Pokemon, but it did the job for two people lying side-by-side. Good thing you went with the larger tent. 

Earlier before climbing into bed, you had insisted on changing inside the tent and having Raihan stand outside while you did so. Of course, he didn’t miss the chance to make a joke about staying in to watch. Considering the lingering self-consciousness from the kiss the two of you shared earlier, you were much more apprehensive compared to when the two of you shared a hotel room in Motostoke. This time around, you had physically pushed him out of the tent. But all things considered, you were surprised with yourself, having asked so confidently for him to stay with you. Recalling the feelings of hesitation you felt when he tried to reach up your shirt, you couldn’t tell if you were lusting after him, or if you simply missed having human company by your side. 

After all, maybe you were just a little bit lonely out here, in an unknown land all by yourself.

In the darkness, you could barely make out the details of the things around you – your backpack, your folded clothes… You were only able to see slight distinctive shapes, so as you inclined your head towards Raihan, the last thing you expected was to see him clearly face-to-face with you, feeling his warm breath gently kiss your face, his turquoise eyes fixed on you steadily.

“You must really be jetlagged, huh?”

You paused, unsure of what he meant by that, until you recalled what you had told him in the hotel room. _'Not really? I guess I’m jetlagged...'_

“Oh. Yeah..." _Or maybe it's because it's hard for anyone to sleep when Galar's hottest Gym Leader is laying next to me!_ "I don't know why, but lately I just can't sleep.”

“I'm having some trouble falling asleep tonight too.” Raihan paused, turning his gaze upwards into the darkness. “But maybe it was cause I was thinking. You know, there’s a lot you know about me, but not a lot I know about you.”

You sputtered, doing a double-take in surprise at his comment. “What? No! I- I don’t really know too much about you… We just met like two days ago!”

“Right, and I told you all about myself a while ago.” You could hear the amusement in his voice and as hard as you tried to come up with a response to counter his statement, you found yourself drawing a blank. He had a point.

“I mean… I guess.” You muttered in defeat.

“See? So why don’t you tell me a little about yourself? I feel like a dragon should get to know the princess he’s with.”

 _’’Tell me about yourself’? ‘Tell me about yourself’?!? What is this, a job interview!?’_ You thought in silent panic. You thanked Arceus for the darkness surrounding you, making him blind to the look of dread on your face. There were a million things you wanted to say, but none of them you could safely tell him. Snickering nervously, you attempted to brush off his question as casually as possible in hopes of sidestepping the topic.

“My life’s pretty boring, there’s not really a whole lot to know about me.”

“You’re just being modest.”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story…”

“I’ve got time.”

Realizing your attempts were useless, you sighed deeply. There was no use in arguing with him. You could tell Raihan was the type of relentless person who would pursue something until he achieved it, and it seemed his goal of the night was to learn more about you, whether you were ready to tell him or not. 

So, with no options left, you did what any sensible person would probably do in your case: You lied.

“Well, let’s see… Where do I begin,” You started nervously, wracking your brain for a tale to tell. If you stated that you had been on a Pokemon Journey before and had fought gym leaders in Hoenn, there was no doubt that he would ask you if you had ever been Champion, curious as to how far you had gotten. Too risky. That was out of the question. Your father’s profession as a Professor was also not an option, as it wouldn’t make any sense. Thus, it seemed the only thing you could do was tell your mother’s story of becoming a Pokemon Coordinator. Though you disliked her a great deal, the things she had accomplished in her life had always been fascinating to you and you firmly believed that if she wasn’t the way she was – a self-involved narcissist – she might have been a genuinely great person that was destined for real fame and adoration, not the superficial plastic fame she clung to with her personality of a cardboard box. 

Swallowing your nerves, you began to tell the story of your mother as if you were in her position. The only thing you changed, was keeping your birth origins the same: Born in Galar but didn’t stay long enough to get acquainted with anything, much less anyone. Once you moved on to speak about your departure to Hoenn, you branched off immediately to tell Raihan the story of an aspiring Pokemon Coordinator. You (in the shoes of your mother) had always been interested in Pokemon, but unlike other trainers, instead of thinking how a Pokemon might do against another in a showdown, you were simply fascinated by a Pokemon’s look and the beauty of their attacks. How a team of the right Pokemon would look like a flawless entourage. How a string of attacks could look akin to putting on a fantastical magic show. When you attended your first Pokemon Contest as a member of the audience, you knew exactly what you wanted to be, your resolve solidifying as the crowd erupted into applause for the winners. You wanted to become the Top Coordinator. And when you embarked on your Pokemon Journey, instead of collecting badges, you collected as many ribbons as you could. Instead of training your Pokemon to attack for offence, you trained and utilized their attacks to create a contemporary art form, wanting to paint a picture for all those who were willing to witness it. 

However, sadly as hard as you tried, you were unable to make it to the rank of Top Coordinator, falling from glory in the Grand Festival. Thus, disgraced from the loss, you had come to Galar looking for a change. This time you wanted to have a taste of what it was like to be a Pokemon Trainer, setting your sights on becoming the Champion of the region.

The whole time you spoke, Raihan stared at you intently and listened with his full, undivided attention. He seemed genuinely interested in what you were saying, occasionally nodding and mumbling in agreement with what you were saying, and even asking questions about Pokemon Coordinators. Witnessing how interested Raihan really was in you, you couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for lying. But you didn’t have any other choice. Maybe one day he would know the truth, but that day was clearly not today. In any case, though the words you spoke were filled with fallacies, you took solace in the fact that they did hold some truth to them. Perhaps in another life, if you hadn’t followed through with becoming a Pokemon trainer, you could have become a great Pokemon Coordinator. 

“And… That’s my story.” You chuckled nervously. “I’m sure this is all super boring.”

“Far from it! I could listen to you talk for hours, princess.”

"...Thanks-” You started, but Raihan wasn’t finished.

“And hey, I bet if you didn’t give up, you could’ve become a Top Coordinator. I could see it.”

Once more you were thankful for the thick darkness blanketing you in the lightless tent, because in that moment, a deep crimson blush had tainted your cheeks as your breath hitched in your throat. Sure, people had complimented you plenty of times before but never like this. And it seemed… somehow different when it came from Raihan. What could you even say? Running his words through your head carefully, you suddenly came to an epiphany: Was there more to the kiss than simply being in the moment?

“Uhm… you know how you said a while ago that you thought you were lucky to have met me?” You started, marveling at how your voice didn’t crack even once while saying this. “Why do you think that?”

There was a long pause and you wondered for a second if Raihan had just fallen asleep. But before you properly inspect his state of consciousness, the sound of his voice gave a startling confirmation that he was, in fact, awake.

“Every day’s kind of the same for me, nothing’s really changed ever since I became a gym leader. But these past two days? They’ve been different – I feel like I’m 10 years old again, just starting on my journey. It’s been a lot of fun.” He pauses. “I hope you make it to the finals. I know potential when I see it, so you better not back down. You didn’t become Top Coordinator, but maybe you could be Champion – if I don’t take the title first.”

“Y-Yeah…” While you felt the warmth from the compliment he paid you, now you felt even worse for lying. Here he was, wholeheartedly rooting for you, while you just lied to his face about… Well, everything about you. You felt a sinking feeling in your stomach and looked hard at the blackness in front of you. Lies or not, he was sweet to you, that was for sure. And perhaps there was a way to make it up to him about lying – not that he would ever know.

“Anyway, guess we better get to bed now if we wanna wake up early. Goodnight.”

“Wait. ...There’s something I wanted to say.”

“Yeah?”

“I actually think I’m really lucky to have met you too.”

And with that, you slid your hands up to his face and pulled him to you, pushing your lips against his.

X X X

The last thing you expected was the confidence to come naturally to you. You had faked the confidence when kissing Raihan, but as the kisses deepened and you felt his smooth touch on your skin, all of your inhibitions and nerves from earlier melted off of you. You were now laying on top of Raihan, your neckline and breasts covered with little bites and your nipples were swollen from the attention his lips gave. Your body pushed against his needily as you felt his member flush against you. The Dragon Tamer lay underneath you, still fully clothed as he had pulled away from any attention you tried to give him, insisting on working you instead. He was teasing you, and it only made you want him more - and you knew the feeling was mutual.

Raihan propped his chin on your shoulder as he planted butterfly kisses along your jawline, his large hands slipping in between your legs, causing desire to pool in your already-wet lower regions. “Raihan…” You panted breathlessly, biting your lip in an attempt to suppress your moans. The slowness of his fingertips tracing your inner thighs was enough to drive you mad with want, his fingertips feeling hot against your skin as he drew agonizingly slow lines on your sensitive skin. It was clear he knew exactly what he was doing to you. “Please…” 

“Hm? What was that, princess?” The low, husky whisper right next to your ear sent shivers up your spine. You gasped as you felt a small nibble on the shell of your ear, his fanged tooth grazing your skin ever so slightly. 

“Don’t tease me…”

“Tell me exactly what you want me to do.”

“I… I want you…to…” You stuttered, the words tumbling clumsily out of your mouth. You couldn’t think straight enough to formulate sentences when his fingers were sliding ever so slowly to your core. 

“Want me to?” A finger slipped underneath your panties and dragged along your entrance, eliciting a loud moan.

“D-Don’t make me say it…” You begged helplessly between pants. Despite not having eyes on his face, you could practically see the devious smirk spread across his lips. 

“Hm? You said you didn’t want this? Oh, too bad.” Raihan replied flatly, though his words were edged with amusement and you felt his finger withdraw from you. Was he trying to kill you? “I guess if you don’t really _want_ me to do anything to you, I’ll stop.”

“No!” The plea came out a little more desperate than you intended. “Ugh, please… I want your fingers inside me, Raihan!” The words were flowing out of your mouth like a waterfall and for once, you didn’t seem to care. You wanted more. You needed more.

“That’s a good girl.” The words came as a husky growl and you drew in a sharp breath as you felt a finger pull aside the wet fabric covering your entrance, two digits sliding in deep shortly afterwards.

Your breaths were erratic and rugged as Raihan’s fingers drove deeper inside you, every so often sliding out slowly before driving back in once more. As Raihan’s thrusts grew rougher and deeper, he began to hit a spot in you that brought out louder moans that you didn't think possible, making you see stars. You were close to the edge, but you didn’t want to go over quite yet. Weakly, you grabbed his arm before he could continue his ministrations.

“Raihan…” You began weakly. “S-Stop…For a s-second…”

“What’s wrong?”

With as much energy as you could muster, you slowly flipped over on top of him, straddling him as you stared lustfully into his eyes. “I… Don't want to be the only one...” You breathed, pressing your lips to his hungrily.

Raihan began to feel a dull ache in his lower half but as much as the gym leader wanted to be inside you, he knew in the back of his mind that it probably wasn’t a good idea. The only reason being that he didn’t have any sort of protection as he didn’t plan on being in this situation tonight. His eyes flicked downward for a moment, as an idea crossed his mind. Perhaps there was something you could do for him. It wouldn’t be as good, but it would do for tonight.

“If you wanted me…” Raihan began, pulling apart and wrapping his fingers around your wrist. “You should have just said so, princess.” And with that, he slowly slid your hand past the band of his shorts, resting it against his hard, throbbing member. Smirking, you closed your fingers around his cock as you began pumping your fist slowly. You felt moisture on the tip and stopped to toy with it, before sliding your fist back down and pumping harder. Raihan moaned and slid a hand down your cheek gently before cuffing your chin and kissing you hard. His free hand slid down your stomach and back into your panties, reinserting the wet fingers he had withdrawn earlier, causing you to moan into the kiss and Raihan’s tongue slipping into your mouth, wrestling with yours. 

This definitely wasn’t what you had expected to go on tonight, but that was a good thing. 

X X X

Your face became beet-red in an instant upon recalling the events of last night, your hand flying to cover your mouth in embarrassment. You were ashamed to admit that you had hoped this wouldn’t be the last time you spent the night with him, but you couldn’t help it. Raihan had made you feel loved, confident and better than you’d ever felt in a single night and you knew you didn’t regret it.

Shaking the thoughts out of your head, you pressed your lips together into a tight line. If you ever wanted to see him again, you had to get serious in figuring out what happened. If the two of you had ended off the night in such an impassioned way, what exactly lead to such a sour end the next day?

_’Think, think… There has to be more—'_

And at that, your face went pale as your eyes widened in realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the kudos, comments, bookmarks and subscriptions! I always really appreciate any sort of feedback, even constructive criticism so please don't be shy in letting me know what you think, whether I should add something, etc. ^^ 
> 
> So stuff DID get a little hot between the reader and Raihan, but I decided not to delve into it too much since it's just a 'flashback'. From this point on though, we start to get into more NSFW territory, where the more descriptive stuff comes a little later. (This is my first time in years writing smut so please be gentle with me haha, hopefully between now and the next time reader and Raihan get down to business, my writing will have improved LOL)
> 
> Edit 1: WOW okay, so I was in a bit of a rush to put this chapter out before heading off on vacation, and I realized there had been quite a lot of errors with the chapter. ;-; Thank you everyone for being patient with me, I've been trying to work through them!


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